Just added this album and will be featuring it twice a day for the weekend. I will play all the tracks accept the bonus alternate takes. This is an extraordinary Album and could be the most talented trio ever assembled in a recording studio. Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Max Roach! Unbelievable improvising throughout but with total control of format. It’s incredible how they compromise each other in a such a confusing environment. I ran into this album while searching through all of Duke Ellington’s works. I found other great combinations of super stars also and will be featuring them in the near future. Here’s more on the album:
Although this excellent album is listed as a Duke Ellington, equal billing should be given to the participation of Charles Mingus and Max Roach. The remastered CD is outstanding, having been cleaned up from the original master tape. The CD also has the addition of six extra tracks, including four unheard Ellington originals: “Very Special,” “Rem Blues,” “Switch Blade,” and “Backward Country Boy Blues.” He is as at home in the setting of a trio as he is with a wailing big-band, and as usual, he allows the other musicians to play. The trio version of “Caravan” is exceptional, raucous and swinging……Learn More
