Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins (Acoustic Sounds Series)

Originally recorded in 1962 and released in 1963, Duke Ellington and Coleman Hawkins’ collaborative masterpiece remains one of the greats of all time. As well as Ellington on piano and Hawkins on saxophone, you get the sheer joy of Ray Nance on violin, Aaron Bell on bass and Sam Woodyard on drums. That’s not the whole line-up either, but fundamentally this is about Ellington’s compositions, which get played out with a silken touch. Pieces like ‘The Ricitic’ feel as light as a feather, proving how subtlety and delicacy are just as much a testament to skill as any performance fireworks.

Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on August 18, 1962 and released in February 1963 by Impulse! Records.

Acoustic Sounds Series reissues from Verve/Universal Music Enterprises
Mastered by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound from the original analog tapes
180-gram LPs pressed at Quality Record Pressings!
Stoughton Printing gatefold old-style tip-on jackets
Series supervised by Chad Kassem CEO of Acoustic Sounds