Duke Ellington - The Mystery Song (1931)

This is one of my favorite bits of Ellingtonia from this era, “The Mystery Song,“ written by Duke Ellington and recorded on June 17, 1931. The music was written to accompany a dance from the famous Cotton Club floor show. The record player is an Orthophonic Victrola model VE4-4X, or “Granada“. The “E“ in the model number indicates that the Victrola is fitted with a synchronous A/C motor instead of a wind-up motor. The machine has a full “orthophonic“ playback system (for electrically-recorded reco