Duke Ellington - The Far East Suite (1981 Japanese RCA Stereo LP)

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Duke Ellington - The Far East Suite | Vinyl LP - 1981 Japanese RCA Stereo Reissue (RJL-2533, RVC Corporation)

The 1963 State Department tour took the Ellington orchestra through Syria, India, Sri Lanka, Iran, Iraq and several other countries. Back in New York, Ellington and Strayhorn began assembling a suite in response. They worked on it for three years, adding pieces around a core of compositions Strayhorn had drafted while abroad. By December 1966 they had nine pieces, recorded in three days.

Billy Strayhorn wrote "Bluebird of Delhi" as a tribute to a mynah bird that came to his hotel window daily in India and refused to answer when spoken to. According to Ellington, it only responded as the band was leaving, and the "low raspberry" at the end of the piece is Hamilton's clarinet mimicking that exit. "Isfahan" had existed under the title "Elf" since 1963. Ellington described the Iranian city as "a city of poetic beauty," and the piece is the album's most celebrated track: Hodges on alto saxophone, playing with the long, slow phrasing that characterised his last years with the band. "Agra" is Strayhorn's piece for Harry Carney's baritone. "Bluebird of Delhi," "Isfahan" and "Agra" are the three Strayhorn compositions. Ellington wrote the remaining six.

"Ad Lib on Nippon" closes the suite at nearly thirteen minutes. It is the most extended improvisation on the album, Ellington at the piano in long dialogue with the full orchestra.

This is the 1981 Japanese RCA stereo reissue (RJL-2533), manufactured by RVC Corporation.