CCMusic.com

Duke Ellington was one of the most iconic and influential composers in the history of jazz, crafting indelible music that continues to be revered and revived to this day. Arguably the pinnacle of his artistry occurred between 1940 and 1942, when his revered Orchestra featured the groundbreaking bassist Jimmie Blanton and the tenor saxophone master Ben Webster. That inspiration is carried forward by the brilliant arranger and bandleader Mark Masters, who revisits the music of the Blanton-Webster Band with his own unique interpretation. The project spotlights the legendary Art Baron, the last trombonist hired by Ellington himself in 1973. Baron occupied the plunger trombone chair of the Ellington Orchestra for the final year of the bandleader's life, and continued with the band under Mercer Ellington.