Audio CD review:
Duke Ellington - Piano in the Foreground

Duke Ellington - Piano in the Foreground

Band: Duke Ellington Title: Piano in the Foreground Rating: Release Date: 27 July, 2004 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: I Can't Get Started 2: Cong-Go 3: Body And Soul 4: Blues For Jerry 5: Fontainebleau Forest 6: Summertime 7: It's Bad To Be Forgotten 8: A Hundred Dreams Ago 9: So 10: Searching (Pleading For Love) 11: Springtime In Africa 12: Lotus Blossom 13: All The Things You Are (Take 1) 14: All The Things You Are (Take 2) 15: Piano Improvisation No. 2 16: Piano Improvisation No. 3 17: Piano Improvisation No. 4 18: Piano Improvisation No. 1

Editoral Review This 1961 trio recording, with his orchestra's rhythm section of drummer Sam Woodyard and Aaron Bell, clearly unveils the maestro's powerful touch, black-and-tan chords, and unstoppable swing, all often overshadowed in the work of his bigger bands. Duke Ellington's piano style influenced generations of pianists, from Thelonious Monk to Randy Weston. The standard "Body and Soul" shows Ellington's debt to James P. Johnson's Harlem stride style, while "Blues for Jerry," recalls Count Basie's Kansas City grooves. "Cong-go" masterfully marries Nigerian highlife and Cuban congorhythms, while Gershwin's "Summertime" and "Springtime in Africa" become surprising, evocative tone poems that foreshadow the avant-garde abstractions of the '70s. There's also a deeply personal rendering of Billy Strayhorn's "Lotus Blossom," which was not included on the original LP. The last six bonus tracks come from a pair of 1957 sessions with Jimmy Woode on bass. All in all, this disc is a worthy addition to Ellington's other keyboard classics, Money Jungle and Piano Reflections. --Eugene Holley, Jr. .. You can see a complete list of all Duke Ellington discography, or go back to the Duke Ellington tabs