Personnel: Duke Ellington (piano); Ray Nance (vocals, trumpet, cornet, violin); Russell Procope (alto saxophone, clarinet); Johnny Hodges (alto saxophone); Jimmy Hamilton (tenor saxophone, clarinet); Paul Gonsalves (tenor saxophone); Harry Carney (baritone saxophone, clarinet); Cat Anderson, Bill Berry, Harold Baker, Roy Burrowes (trumpet); Lawrence Brown, Chuck Connors, Leon Cox, Buster Cooper (trombone); Aaron Bell (bass); Sam Woodyard (drums).
Recorded at Bell Studio in New York City on February 13, May 24 & 25, and July 3, 1962. Includes liner notes by Stanley Dance.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
Personnel: Duke Ellington (piano); Ray Nance (vocals, violin, trumpet, cornet); Russell Procope (clarinet, alto saxophone); Jimmy Hamilton (clarinet, tenor saxophone); Harry Carney (clarinet, baritone saxophone); Johnny Hodges (alto saxophone); Paul Gonsalves (tenor saxophone); Harold Baker, Bill Berry , Roy Burrowes, Cat Anderson (trumpet); Leon Cox, Lawrence Brown , Chuck Connors, Buster Cooper (trombone); Sam Woodyard (drums).
Liner Note Author: Stanley Dance.
By 1962, Ellington was well into his third-stream phase, adding more and more influences from classical, European art, and various indigenous musics to his work, while simultaneously incorporating elements of nearly every jazz, blues, and gospel form which had come before. It's no wonder that by this time, Ellington preferred the term "black classical music" to "jazz." Even Ellington standards like "Take the A Train" and "Black and Tan Fantasy" are rearranged here to reveal previously unexplored facets. The orchestra, which by this point featured players who had been with Ellington for over two decades, plays as if controlled by one mind.
