The Ellington Suites (1976)

"Ellington led arguably the most important big band of the swing era while also recording widely in smaller formats. But he considered his music well beyond the definition of jazz. These 3 suites were recorded between 1959 and 1972. "The Queen's Suite" was composed shortly after the coronation of Great Britain's Elizabeth in 1955 and contains a solo piano (supported by string bass) composition, "Single Petal of a Rose." The Goutelas and Uwis Suites are 1970s products. The latter is supplemented with "The Kiss" recorded at the same time as the suite. Ellington still featured Paul Gonsalves and Johnny Hodges, whose voices loom large on this recording. Ellington's suites may have suffered from under exposure for their forward thinking approach of melding jazz and classical forms. But listening to these pieces, the thread of Ellington is in fully flowered evidence on these relatively late career recordings. These pieces make it hard to dispute Ellington's supremacy in American jazz." (C. Michael Bailey, Allmusic)