Duke Ellington songbook is and always was inspiration to countless artists around the world,it truly is magnificent art that defies description.
Andre Prévin is elegant and polished pianist who has right feeling for this kind of music (in dinner parlor sort of way,he is more european aristocrat than Harlem stride pianist) unfortunately this recording is saddled with easy-listening Mantovani strings all over the place,so Prévin rarely get solo spot - he can be hard here and there,before strings overwhelm him and swallow him like a wave of dripping,gooey glue,turning the whole album into elevator music.
At the time of this recording Ellington was still alive and well,so I wonder what he thought of this tribute where "Perdido" has waltzy violins - hey,they might have called it "Ellington in Schnietzeland"!
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