The Jaywalker

This CD is a must for all Duke Ellington fans: not only is all the music previously unissued, but the music itself is very unusual – even for Duke Ellington – since (1) it was composed for a British play, and (2) there are many short ”mood-creating” fragments as well as whole tunes. The 23 tunes (76 minutes) on this CD are studio recordings made in Los Angeles and New York in 1966-67. This CD is the third Storyville release of unissued tracks from what Duke Ellington called ”The Stockpile” – studio recordings which Ellington made at his own expense. The music on this CD was composed for the English play ”The Jaywalker” and includes many short fragments, which were supposed to create specific moods in the course of the play. The music frequently features the driving percussion work of Emmanuel Abdul-Rahim on congas and Bobby Durham on drums. The band plays excellently; just listen to the unique quality of Harry Carney’s baritone sax on ”Chromatic Love Affair” and of Cat Anderson’s high trumpet notes on ”Salomé”.