This disc, rescued by Nimbus from the purgatory of the Musicmasters catalog, is quite simply the finest collection of symphonic Ellington ever recorded. In Maurice Peress we have a conductor who combines a complete idiomatic grasp of the music with the ability to really conduct a large symphony orchestra confidently and charismatically. He has the American Composers Orchestra playing with the perfect combination of rhythmic freedom and corporate discipline. The various saxophone, piano (Roland Hanna), trumpet, and clarinet soloists are all top-notch, and they do Ellington proud.
This large-scale arrangement of Black, Brown and Beige nicely complements Peress’ version for this same label of the complete work in its original jazz-band scoring (hopefully Nimbus will issue that as well). Harlem has seen other recordings, most notably Järvi’s on Chandos, but this one has more sass, thanks to its sharper rhythmic profile. Three Black Kings, scored here by Luther Henderson, by rights ought to be a repertory piece alongside such favorites as An American in Paris. I don’t need to go on, save to say that the sonics were and remain excellent, and that this release belongs in every serious classical and jazz collection. If you didn’t get it the first time around, now’s your chance.
