Duke Ellington: Far East Suite (LP)

"The "Far East Suite" marks the last completed collaboration between Ellington and his musical partner and alter ego Billy Strayhorn, who died five months after the recordings were made. "Isfahan", for example, is a typical Strayhorn ballad melody in the tradition of the incomparable "Chelsea Bridge", which is lifted up another level by Johnny Hodges' alto saxophone, to where the air is quite thin: into the heaven of immortal jazz interpretations. But regardless of such great moments of improvised music, the entire nine-part composition (of which four sections are included in alternative versions) is one of the most beautiful and successful of the numerous suite compositions of the late Ellington years." (Rondo) "Far East Suite" is a concept album by the American jazz musician Duke Ellington from 1967, which was inspired by his group's tour of Asia. Ellington and his longtime collaborator Billy Strayhorn wrote the compositions. Strayhorn died in May 1967, making "Far East Suite" one of the last albums with his compositions recorded during his lifetime. The album won the 1968 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Performance - Large Group or Soloist with Large Group. The Penguin Guide to Jazz gives the album a four-star rating, noting that "Ellington's ability to mediate points of contact and conflict between cultures by blending the blues with Eastern modes in pieces like "Blue Pepper (Far East of the Blues)" never sounds overly self-conscious. This remains a highlight of the post-war period Allmusic calls this one of Ellington's "more memorable recordings" and describes it as an example of "Ellington and Strayhorn in their late prime" and as such "quite essential" "Far East Suite" is available in a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on orange vinyl.