• Track Listing

Always one to give credit where credit was due, Duke Ellington designed his small bands around one or more soloists from his touring and recording ensemble and released the recordings under the soloists’ names. The 25 tracks on this compilation feature five major players from the Ellington Orchestra: Rex Stewart and His Fifty-Second Street Stompers, Barney Bigard and His Orchestra, Cootie Williams and His Rug Cutters, Johnny Hodges and His Orchestra, and Rex Stewart’s Big Seven!