Duke Ellington - Duke in Washington - CD

Digitally remastered by Jack Towers.

This collection finds Duke Ellington and his orchestra in and around his birthplace of Washington D.C. from World War Two through the late 1960s. The recordings range from scratchy radio broadcast dates from military shows to grand concert performances at Howard University and even a moving solo selection from the Nixon White House.

The listener is provided with a large swath of Ellington's greatness including rousing performances of Johnny Mercer's "G.I. Jive," "Happy-Go-Lucky Local," and "Take the 'A' Train." Most selections are typically truncated, but the lone epic "(A Tone Parallel to) Harlem" also offers a taste of Ellington's magnificent command of the long form. As this collection illustrates, Duke and his men obviously saved something special for the nation's capital.