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This is the one to get!

Andrew R. Weiss | Raleigh, NC USA | 03/15/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There are several CD versions of Ellington's Paris concert at the Alhambra on October 29, 1958 listed on amazon. Beware of the others: this is the only complete one. These two discs give us the entire concert, including a "Harlem Air Shaft" featuring Clark Terry, an inspired "Deep Purple" with Jimmy Hamilton, a shortened version of the "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" that revived Duke's commercial popularity at Newport in 1956, and the inevitable medleys of "Black and Tan Fantasy/Creole Love Call/Mooche" and his "greatest hits" (13 numbers melded into 18-1/2 minutes, starting with "Don't Get Around Much Any More," ending with "I Let A Song Go Out of my Heart", and veering through "Mood Indigo", "Caravan" and "Satin Doll", amongst others). This is the classic late-fifties orchestra, with the amazing trumpet section of Ray Nance, Clark Terry, Shorty Baker and Cat Anderson and "the" sax section (Hodges, Procope, Hamilton, Gonsalves and Carney) and featuring one of Ellington's greatest bass players, Jimmy Woode, anchoring the rhythm section with grace, wit and melody.



IMHO, this 1956-1958 orchestra was one of Ellington's three greatest (the other two being the classic late-30's group and the 1964-1966 band before the exits of Nancy and drummer Sam Woodyard). Sometimes Duke's orchestras could play on auto-pilot; this was not one of those occasions. They were inspired. This set is well worth adding to your Ellington collection."