Artist:Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
Song:Take The "A" Train
Album:Highlights From The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition 1927-1973
To celebrate Duke Ellington's 100th birthday in 1999, RCA Records released a massive 24CD box set called the Centennial Edition. This literally has everything Ellington ever recorded for RCA. I have several heavy duty box sets but this is a bit much even for me. This 3CD Highlights comp is more manageable and you don't have to mortgage your house. Besides there's more to Ellington than his RCA recordings though his most popular recordings from the 40s are on RCA. This is the original 1941 version of the Billy Strayhorn classic Take The "A" Train and was recorded by what became known as the Blanton-Webster Band featuring bassist Jimmy Blanton & tenor sax player Ben Webster. Strayhorn was Ellington's longtime writing & arranging partner but rarely played in the Ellington band. So this Highlights comp features the Duke Ellington band at their best and is essential listening.
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