Duke Ellington & Orchestra - Conny Plank Session

Duke Ellington's musical works are seemingly well documented; the likelihood of finding a good, unreleased Duke Ellington recording is slight at best. When Grönland Records called and told me they had found exactly that in Conny Plank's estate and asked me if I wanted to give it a listen, I felt pretty honored, and excited. The music of Duke Ellington is - in my worldview - to Jazz what Bach's oeuvre is to classical music: THE great benchmark, or - to raise it up onto an even higher pedestal - the Old Testament, the alpha and omega. With both Bach and Ellington, you can sit down at a piano simply to go through it building chords and something great always happens. This music is so rich, and it is virtually indestructible.