LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

Duke Ellington in his spoken introduction to this music says ". . . and of course, we travel around the world a lot." "A lot" doesn't begin to do justice to the extent of Ellington's travels with his band in the 1960s and '70s. His journeys never failed to stimulate the maestro's creative production, and The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse was one of the results. Dedicated to the proposition put forth by Marshall McLuhan that the world was being orientalized, the suite blends eclectic elements inspired by Ellington's observations in a number of countries. Its premier section, "Chinoiserie," is a monument to the universal compulsion of rhythm. Chinoiserie, Didjeridoo, Afrique, Acht O'Clock Rock, Gong, Tang, True, Hard Waywith Cootie Williams, Money Johnson, Mercer Ellington, Eddie Preston, Booty Wood, Malcolm Taylor, Chuck Connors, Russell Procope, Norris Turney, Paul Gonsalves, Harold Ashby, Harry Carney, Joe Benjamin, Rufus Jones