THE SYMPHONIC ELLINGTON
Night Creature (Soul Note)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson


If you're a Duke Ellington fan you HAVE to have this! We've seen a whole lot of Duke this past year as every label scrambled to take part in (or cash in on) the late genius' 100th birthday, and a great deal of it has been well worth picking up. This one is something very special that demands attention and even study.

This is a live concert performed in Milan, Italy on February 27th, 1999. Already you know this isn't actually a recording of The Duke himself. The performers are The Civica Jazz Band, of The Civica Scuola di Musica (The Civic Music School), and Milan's finest orchestra, L'Ensemble dell' Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi. The plan is to present some of The Duke's symphonic works in a mixed setting, and it comes off perfectly. The interplay between the jazz band and the orchestra creates something breathtakingly beautiful and beyond adequate description. Pianist Marco Fumo plays the mediator in the equation, the pivotal segue between the two distinct soundscapes, performing some perfectly transcribed, note-for-note Ellington parts in the process.

Enrico Intra, director of the jazz department at the school, conducts this wonderful crowd of gifted musicians beautifully, but that was just the final step of a very long process. Intra spent a great deal of time studying each piece and revising them for this performance, going so far as to tailor solo sections to the individual musicians who would be performing them. In short, no detail left to chance. While that's death in a small jazz band setting, it's blissful perfection for The Symphonic Ellington. There is no way I could possibly praise this fantastic, brilliant, triumphant CD enough. Somewhere up there The Duke is smiling.

Track List:

Night Creature: Fast * Night Creature: Andante Misterioso * Night Creature: Moderato * Night Creature: Moderato * Night Creature: Andante Misterioso * Night Creature: Moderato Sostenuto * Swampy River * New World A-Comin': Moderato Lento * New World A-Comin': Moderato * New World A-Comin': Allegro/Moderato * The Three Black Kings: King Of The Magi * The Three Black Kings: King Solomon * The Three Black Kings: Jazz Improvisations * The Three Black Kings: King Of The Magi * Take The 'A' Train

© 2000 - DJ Johnson