by Scott Yanow
One of Ellington's rarer studio sessions and last out on this French CD, the main plot behind this runthrough of his standards is that the leader's piano is featured at some point in every song. His sidemen are also heard from and everyone is in fine form. Ellington's solo abilities were always a bit underrated due to his brilliance in other areas, but this set shows just how modern he remained through the years as a player.