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MUSIC Arkadia Jazz releases Duke Ellington tribute
Benny Golson, Billy Taylor, T.K. Blue, Joanne Brackeen, the Joe Henderson Project,
Harold Land and Joris Teepe in new recordings of Ellington classics
rkadia Records 1s
pleased to add a third
Ibum to its
Grammy-nominated “Thank
You” series of musical hom
ages to the giants of jazz with
Thank You, Duke! This cel
ebration of Duke Ellington’s
remarkable legacy (100 years
after his birth) features 26 top
musicians interpreting 10
songs associated with the great
Duke all given fresh treat
ments and colorful interpreta
tions. Ellington, who led a big
band for 49 straight years
(1925-74), was a distinctive
and always modern pianist,
an innovative arranger, and
the composer of thousands of
songs, scores of which have
long been standards.
In this extraordinary new
recording, a talented and di
verse collection of Arkadia
Jazz all-stars pay tribute to
Duke Ellington’s classic mu
sic. Benny Golson, Joanne
Brackeen, TK. Blue (Tahb
Kibwe), Billy Taylor, Harold
Land, Joris Teepe (with Don
Braden and Chrnis Potter) and
the Joe Henderson Project
with Eric Reed, Carl Allen,
Terrell Stafford and Steve
Nelson Although the
Ellington-associated melodies
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JANUARY 6, 2000
included on Thank You, Duke!
were composed over a 40-year
period (from the late 1920’s
“Mood Indigo”™ to Billy
Strayhorn’'s mid-'6os
“Isfahan,”) there is no sign of
age in any of the timeless
themes, certainly not in the
interpretations by Arkadia’s
jazz masters. The updated
treatments given these stan
dards on Thank You, Duke!
vary in instrumentation and
style but are consistently re
warding and display both the
strength and the variety of
Ellington’s music and the tal
ent of Arkadia's roster of art-
Ilsts.
Benny Golson, a major com
poser for 45 years, performs
warm versions of “Don’t Get
Around Much Anymore” and
“Moed Indigo” with an all-star
trio ( pianist Mulgrew Miller,
bassist Buster Williams and
drummer Carl Allen), bring
ing an arranger’s sensibility
to his well planned renditions
The ageless Billy Taylor (a
close friend of Ellington's for
30 years) interprets a sensi
tive “In a Sentimental Mood.”
The innovative pianist Joanne
Brackeen plays “Sophisticated
Lady” solo and “Come Sun
day” with a trio, extending
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Duke's ideas and creating
fresh new music. One of
Arkadia’s most significant new
discoveries, TK. Blue (Talib
Kibwe), performs the beauti
ful “Day Dream” on alto with a
quartet and takes “Chromatic
Love Affair” as a soprano-pi
ano duet with veteran Randy
Weston. The Joe Henderson
Project, an impressive unit
with pianist Eric Reed, vibra
phonist Steve Nelson, trum
peter Terell Stafford and
drummer Carl Allen, paystrib
ute to the great tenor by play
ing “Isfahan,” a song that
Henderson usually uses to be
gin each of his performances.
Tenor-saxophonist Harold
Land's acclaimed project with
a string section arranged by
Ray Ellis yielded his lyrical
version of “In a Sentimental
Mood.” And to close off this
rewarding tribute, bassist
Joris Teepe, a European who
can attest to the worldwide
appeal of Ellington’s music,
performs “The Feelingof Jazz”™
with a quintet that includes
Don Braden on soprano and
Chris Potter on tenor. In the
25 vears since Duke Ellington’s
death, his music has rarely
sounded more alive and time
less than on this heartfelt and
96.9 The Touch
presents
Magic Mornings
Monday - Friday
6 am.-10am.
with
Tom Joyner
&
Mechelle Jordan
beautifully-conceived tribute
project.
“The depth and breadth of
Ellington’s work 1s a testament
to his monumental creativity
throughout his career span
ning more than 50 years,” says
Arkadia founder and CEO Bob
Karcy in the album'’s liner
notes. “His indelible standards
are proof that a magnificent
melody is forever. Wide in
scope and deep in nature,
Ellington’s influence 1s some
thing for which we will remain
in debt for many years tocome.
As such, we feel strongly that
it is important from time to
time to say ... Thank You,
Duke!”
A full-service label started
in 1997 by Bob Karcy, Arkadia
Jazz has already earned wide
acclaim as “The Artists’
Choice.” The label received
three Grammy nominationsin
1999 and has released CDs by
Billy Taylor, Benny Golson,
T.K. Blue, Joanne Brackeen,
Nova Bossa Nova, the Moscow
Sax Quintet, Dave Liebman,
Kenny Drew Jr. and a com
pletely remastered album of
Django Reinhardt with
Coleman Hawkins In addi
tion its newly-acquired Post
cards label has highly-rated
releases by Gary Peacock and
Bill Frisell, Reggie Workman,
Jorge Sylvester, Alan Pasqua.
Harold Land and Paul Bley,
among others
Arkadia Jazz 1s a label of
Arkadia Entertainment, a
natural extension of VI E W
Video, founded by Karcy al
most 20 yearsago V.I.E W s
widely acknowledged to be the
premiere home video producer
and label in jazz, performing
arts (opera, dance and class
cal music)and special interest
(documentary, parenting,
sports, health & titness) with
a catalog in excess of 200 tities
that have been honored with
over 100 prestigious interna
tional awards. For consumers
who would like the name of
the nearest retailer, or to re
ceive a catalog, call toll-free, 1
888-ARKADIA
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