Duke Ellington

4 STARS ALL MUSIC GUIDE

The last entry in a ten-volume set of mostly unreleased studio and live recordings from Duke Ellington's personal collection, Private Collection, Vol. 10 primarily consists of a 1965 re-recording of Ellington's first major extended work, 1943's "Black, Brown, and Beige." (The sixth part of that nine-part tone poem, "The Blues," is actually a 1971 recording featuring Tony Watkins on vocals; this is one of the very few times this song was sung by a man.) Removing a couple of sections from the original score - the wartime march that ended the 1943 version is gone, and the "Beige" section is drastically truncated - Ellington retains all of the tone poem's vivid, near-symphonic splendor. The rest of the disc consists of a pair of 1966 recordings: a 13-minute take on '50s oft-recorded "Harlem," with some dazzling rhythmic shifts highlighting the orchestra's uncanny musical synchronicity, and "Ad Lib on Nippon," a section of 1963's "The Far East Suite" that doesn't actually have that much of a Japanese character but does feature some sterling bop-like piano-bass jousting by Ellington and John Lamb, followed by an excellent, gently swinging clarinet solo by Jimmy Hamilton. - Review by Stewart Mason, All Music Guide

TRACKS:

01. Black
02. Comes Sunday
03. Light
04. West Indian Dance
05. Emancipation Celebration
06. The Blues
07. Cy Runs Rock Waltz
08. Beige
09. Sugar Hill Penthouse
10. Harlem
11. Ad Lib on Nippon