Early Ellington: 1927-1934.

IF LIKE so many of us you are converting your jazz collection to compact disc, then the following reissues on CD are highly recommended:

Early Ellington: 1927-1934 It has been said repeatedly that Duke Ellington's solo instrument was the whole orchestra. But these early and superlative recordings "Black & Tan Fantasie," "Creole Love Call" with Adelaide Hall, "Ring Dem Bells," "Echoes of the Jungle," "Solitude," to name but a few-have just enough Ellingtonian arrangement to set off the brilliant and exciting solos of Cootie Williams (trumpet), Barney Bigard (clarinet), and Johnny Hodges (alto sax). Duke himself, who in later years hardly soloed, shows that he could easily have made it as a jazz-band pianist (Bluebird 6852-2-RB).