Duke Ellington Afro-Bossa

Personnel includes: Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Cat Anderson, Jimmy Hamilton, Johnny Hodges.

Liner Note Author: Stanley Dance.

By the beginning of the 1960s, Duke Ellington and his faithful collaborator, Billy Strayhorn, had been exposed to many different cultures throughout the world, influences heavily reflected in the compositions on AFRO BOSSA. Ellington had been seeking new musical pastures for some time, and his signing with Frank Sinatra's Reprise imprint provided some of the impetus for this 1962 release, one the first fruits of his and Strayhorn's labors for the new label. However, no matter how exotic the musical source material, all these compositions carry the classic Ellington stamp, from the concise piano and bass duet introduction to "Purple Gazelle," to the sumptuous brass arrangement that heralds the opening of "Pyramid."