AllMovie

The music compilation home video release Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: 1929-1943 presents, in a single, 55-minute collection, numerous performances of demigod Ellington and his jazz orchestra, culled from films issued between 1929 and 1947. Contents include seven numbers from the 1929 Black and Tan, two from the 1930 Check and Double Check, and four from the 1934 Symphony in Black, plus a pair of performances from a 1937 Paramount Newsreel and Ellington and co.'s rendition of I've Got to Be a Rug Cutter as featured in The Hit Parade of 1937. The program also features Ellington and his fellow musicians jamming on "Mood Indigo," "Sophisticated Lady," "It Don't Mean a Thing if It Ain't Got That Swing" and "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" from the 1947 Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.