Earl Hines Plays Duke Ellington: Jazz Royalty (3-CD)

Maybe it's the crystal-clear keyboard sound Earl "Fatha" Hines has on the three CDs of this all-Ellington solo piano program, or maybe it's the spread-wide approach Hines takes to the tunes, extending some of them to over 10 minutes, or maybe it's just all the compacted wisdom and joy Ellington wrote into the originals, but something about this package is magnificent and unforgettable. Issued as a single CD first volume and a two-CD second volume, this collection makes the smaller chapters into a full, packed book, a treasure trove indeed. Hines's career as a piano soloist runs parallel to Ellington's rise as a composer and bandleader. He perfected his execution so that the muscularity of his formidable strength on the keys was in perfect proportion to his wandering genius. Hines runs the keyboard like a complex but easily adored machine, peeling off lines and rockin' the rhythms like it was all a labor of longstanding love. This package is lovable beyond language. It's a whole lot of gems lined up one after the other. --Andrew Bartlett