James Edward “Duke” Ellington was the most American, most versatile of all jazz composers. Bron in 1899 he was called Duke by his friends because of his noble stance. He grew in the thirties to stardom with his creative orchestrations and compositions. He led his own big band from 1923 to the end of his life in 1974. His specialty was writing miniatures for the short 78 rpm format, and many of his works are now jazz standards.
In 1957 he was performing at the Newport Jazz Festival, and it resulted in a true revival for the Duke. In the early sixties he recorded a series of collaborations with the greats of the time, and this is his try with the Trane. Personally I don’t like big band, I like the small, chamber music-like setting of jazz, and on these recordings Duke showed himself master of those too.
This recording is from 1963, and is cool jazz. This is already later than the bebop period of the late fifties, and I think it melts perfectly with Ellington’s standards. Most of the tracks on this album are from that stock, with one exception: a (then) new composition by John Coltrane. The Trane was honored to be playing alongside the legend.