Purchase Duke Ellington – Piano in the Background from CD Universe …or download from iTunes
This Duke Ellington album features the leader himself opening each track and soloing from time to time throughout. The band is one of the most expressive and cohesive Ellington ever had, and the arrangements of “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” and “I’m Beginning to See the Light” by the then-22-year-old Bill Mathieu are simply brilliant.