Given Phish's musical renaissance after their reunion in 2008, revisiting the band's past is often useful for the purpose of hearing just what made them such a dominant force on the early jam band scene in the first place. This date, recorded at the Niagara Falls Convention Center in December of 1995, is a prime example…
Duke at the Roadhouse: Live in Santa Fe features clarinetist Eddie Daniels and pianist Roger Kellaway in concert performing a variety of songs by the great Duke Ellington. Also joining in on several songs is cellist James Holland. Recorded as a benefit concert for the New Mexico Center for Therapeutic Riding, the album is a swinging and highly entertaining set that showcases the sensitive group interplay between Daniels and Kellaway. While most of the songs here are standards, the approach is anything but, and tracks like "In a Sentimental Mood" and "Sophisticated Lady" have a languid, poetic, and harmonically sophisticated quality that speaks to the high level of craft on display here. Anyone who loves these musicians will want to seek out this superb album.