Arnie Somogyi & Mark Edwards - The Ellington Piano Project: Eastbourne 1973 Reimagined (CD)

In the winter of 1973, at the Congress Theatre, Eastbourne on the Sussex coast, Duke Ellington gave what was to be his final public performance. The finest jazz tune smith, and his band - somewhat depleted of some of it's finest improvisers due to death or retirement, gave what was seen upon the release of the album of the concert on RCA, as a valedictory performance. Not widely known at the time was that the Duke was suffering from the cancer that would kill him shortly after. Inevitably, the recording was shot through with magic, majesty, travesty and weariness. It was not appreciated, understood or valued by the critics. Bassist Arnie Somogyi and pianist Mark Edwards have revisited the Eastbourne concert, and rather than accept the rather negative view of the album, found it possessed a solid core to mine, and the result is this affectionate reimagining of the 1973 concert, with some new works created from the improvs played by the Duke in between numbers. A fascinating fact about the new album, recorded in Eastbourne in a studio just a hundred yards from The Congress is that the very same piano played by Ellington is played by Mark Edwards - the years fall way, and echoes of the Duke and his magic shine through.