YMMV / Duke Ellington

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• Awesome Music: Newport 1956, "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue". The band went on late; the announcer talked too much; it was late at night, and nobody expected anything special. The first few numbers get polite applause. Even the specially-composed Festival Suite doesn't get anyone excited. Then Ellington unleashes Chessmaster Sidekick Paul Gonsalves, and the crowd goes from Dull Surprise to batshit crazy in just 15 minutes. It didn't hurt that an attractive young platinum blonde (Elaine Anderson) in the audience broke into a spontaneous◊ Happy Dance early on.
• Moment of Awesome: Combines with Awesome Music above, but the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival performance, period. What began inauspiciously ignited into frenzy during Paul Gonsalves' legendary solo, and in the ensuing "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue", with its carefully timed racking-up of the tension, erupted into utter pandemonium. When the organizers attempted to pull Ellington off the stage, the crowd nearly rioted in response. Perhaps the real moment of awesome was Duke virtually singlehandedly regaining control by ignoring the attempts to stop the show, and instead launching into one last number, allowing him to end the performance on his terms.
• Signature Song: Initially "Sepia Panorama". Shortly afterwards, it (and every other ASCAP-licensed song) was banned from radio play, so "Take the 'A' Train" was written to become the Ellington band's new theme.

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