Duke Ellington - Recollections of the Big Band Era (1974) [Japanese Edition 2012]
EAC Rip | FLAC (image+.cue+log) - 467 MB | MP3 CBR 320 kbps (LAME 3.93) - 175 MB | Covers - 28 MB
Genre: Jazz, Big Band, Swing | RAR 3% Rec. | Label: Warner Music Japan (WPCR-27050)
This CD consists of the recordings of big-band standards that Duke Ellington originally did for Reprise in the early '60s. One suspects there was a quid pro quo here - he would cut these '30s and '40s standards, which were certain to make money, for Reprise, and that same label, in turn, would record his symphonic music. The material is done in a smooth, swinging style, more laid-back than what the Count Basie orchestra of the same period would have done with this same stuff ("One O'Clock Jump" is included here as one of ten bonus tracks), but with enough fire and boundless elegance to make it more than worthwhile. Highlights include "Minnie the Moocher," "Cherokee," "Ciribiribin," "Contrasts," "Smoke Rings," "Woodchopper's Ball," "Rhapsody in Blue," and "Tuxedo Junction"…