For Duke

The world of music was forever changed in 2013 with the passing of legendary keyboardist, composer and producer George Duke. This year, Al Jarreau, famed vocalist and long-time friend of Duke, re-interprets some of Duke's renowned catalog of post-bop, jazz-fusion, R&B and Brazilian jazz with My Old Friend: Celebrating George Duke. This work also hosts a stellar blend of guest artists including Gerald Albright, Dianne Reeves, Marcus Miller, Lalah Hathaway, Jeffrey Osborne, Kelly Price, Dr. John, and more, with a special appearance by George Duke on the track "Bring Me Joy" which also features Boney James.

One of the benchmark records in jazz and in the Ella Fitzgerald catalog. "The Duke Ellington Songbook" features a wonderful selection interpreted splendidly by one of the all time great voices in music. It was the first of a series of recordings by the prolific pair. Ellington's performances both at piano and directing orchestra are outstanding. This is beautifully balanced by the sweet and luscious delivery of Fitzgerald on the classics "Take The A Train", "Solitude", "I'm Just A Lucky So and So", and "Caravan". The album featured a number of legendary performers including Paul Gonsalves, Ben Webster, Ray Nance, Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, Billy Strayhorn, Barney Kessel, Dizzy Gillespie, Sam Woodyard and many more. The Duke Ellington Songbook is a true must have for any jazz fan.

One of the benchmark records in jazz and in the Ella Fitzgerald catalog. "The Duke Ellington Songbook" features a wonderful selection interpreted splendidly by one of the all time great voices in music. It was the first of a series of recordings by the prolific pair. Ellington's performances both at piano and directing orchestra are outstanding. This is beautifully balanced by the sweet and luscious delivery of Fitzgerald on the classics "Take The A Train", "Solitude", "I'm Just A Lucky So and So", and "Caravan". The album featured a number of legendary performers including Paul Gonsalves, Ben Webster, Ray Nance, Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, Billy Strayhorn, Barney Kessel, Dizzy Gillespie, Sam Woodyard and many more. The Duke Ellington Songbook is a true must have for any jazz fan.

This album with the strange psychedelic sci-fi cover draws a tighter circle around Duke’s fusion language. The keyboard master ventures deep into his synthesizer laboratory. Duke shows himself to be a singer with a soulful sound. Shortly before this recording he had shelved his trombone so that he could communicate more directly with the audience, as can be heard in the hymnal, dreamlike title piece. The guest list of players make for an especially exciting concoction. No less than Duke’s playing companion Frank Zappa, under the cryptic pseudonym Obdewl’l X, performs some adventuresome guitar passages on “Love” and “Old Slippers”. On the California-sunshine pop samba, “Yana Aminah”, we have a surprise visit by Brazilian Flora Purim, wife of percussionist Airto Moreira, who opens up his bag of tricks on “The Once Over”, and plays on three more tracks.

On their fifth studio effort, "Sky Is Mine", English indie rockers The Duke Spirit valiantly search for humanity within a galaxy that oftentimes is quite full of the exact opposite. The band’s mission isn’t without its detours and obstacles, however, as the latest LP track proves. Titled “Houses”, it’s steeped in an aura of reverb and psychedelia, and conjures the feeling of uncertainty and need.

This recording shines a light on Australian composition for the saxophone combined with piano and at times joined by cello, violin and percussion. Some works are adaptations of music originally for oboe made by the composers themselves (Edwards, Hindson, Broadstock), and all recordings are premieres of which two (Chan and Orlovich) were commissioned specifically for this project.

"Indigos" is a 1958 jazz album by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. This album stands as an outstanding example of the Ellington Orchestra playing Jazz, features standards such as "Mood Indigo", "Autumn Leaves", "Prelude To a Kiss" and more.

"Piano in the Foreground" is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded and released on the Columbia label in 1961. It features Ellington in a piano trio setting, emphasising his own keyboard prowess rather than the big band arrangements more typical of his recordings.

"Recollections of the Big Band Era" is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded in 1962 & 1963 by Bruce Swedien at Universal Recording Studios in Chicago for the Reprise label but not released until 1974 on the Atlantic label. The album features performances of compositions associated with big bands led by artists such as Count Basie, Fletcher Henderson, Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway and others by the Duke Ellington's Orchestra. Featuring familiar titles such as: "Ciribiribin", and "Auld Lang Syne", this one-of-a-kind set is beautifully remastered and presented in pristine HD quality. This tribute to the big pop-orchestra bands of Ellington's heyday stands on its own.