Duke Ellington: Blues In Orbit CD

Add Blues in Orbit to your collection when you call 800-574-5886. BLUES IN ORBIT is a spectacular, well-rounded assembly of early and latter-day Ellington material. Most of these recordings were made in 1959, when the popularity of the LP was changing the ways in which music was conceived and made. While Ellington is known for his “extended works,” most of the tracks here resemble–in form, length, and feel–the style of the musician’s early catalog. Spacious, conversational pieces (such as the title track) and the slinky exotica of “Smada” fit nicely alongside such favorites and standards as “C Jam Blues,” “Sentimental Lady,” and “In A Mellotone.”

Pacing and tone vary according to the standard Ellington program scheme. Wailing up-tempo blues (“Pie Eye’s Blues,” “Three J’s Blues”-in which instrumentalists Jimmy Hamilton and Ray Nance get to stretch a bit) alternate with tracks such as the meltingly beautiful “Brown Penny,” this last number featuring an incomparable solo by Johnny Hodges. Ellington delivers with grace, prowess, and supreme creativity, and BLUES IN ORBIT, with its superb playing and diverse, wonderful track list, is a keeper.