Album of the Day

A wellspring of jazz, blues and rock ‘n’ roll, New Orleans is an American musical landmark, so it’s a fitting choice for a tribute by another music icon, Duke Ellington. NEW ORLEANS SUITE includes performances by such Ellington band mainstays as saxophonist Johnny Hodges (these are his final recordings) and trumpeter Cootie Williams and the playing is superb throughout. The 1971 Atlantic collection joins the titular suite (commissioned for the city’s Jazz Festival the preceding year) to portraits of such Big Easy luminaries as Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet. A Grammy winner for Best Jazz Performance by a Big Band, NEW ORLEANS SUITE now shines in blu-ray audio as a new release in Rhino’s QUADIO series.