Reissue producer: Ben Young.
Digitally remastered by Chris Herles (PolyGram Studios).
This is part of Verve's Master Edition series.
This is a spirited live set taken from the same 1966 French concerts that produced ELLA & DUKE AT THE COTE D'AZUR (itself recently reissued as a 4-disc deluxe set). By including up-to-the-minute versions of such Ellington warhorses as "Sophisticated Lady," "Caravan," and, of course, "Take The "A" Train," this newly remastered edition of SOUL CALL expands the original album from a skimpy six tracks to a leisurely fourteen.
The opening "La Plus Belle Africane," a nearly 14-minute composition in the modern one-world spirit of the following year's FAR EAST SUITE, remains SOUL CALL's piece de resistance. Such featured Ellington players as tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves and underrated drummer Sam Woodyard are given plenty of featured solo space on "West Indian Pancake" and "Skin Deep." The latter was a specialty showcase for former drummer Louis Bellson, but the unassuming Woodyard shines throughout.
