The most cohesive and compelling selection, however, is the panoramic 'Harlem.' Originally commissioned by Arturo Toscanini's NBC Symphony Orchestra, it's a now-bustling, now-spiritual vignette of inner-city life, scored for jazz band (trumpet, clarinet, bass and drums) and orchestra. On this nearly 70-minute CD, conductor and Ellington collaborator Maurice Peress unveils symphonic (and sometimes truncated) treatments of 'Black, Brown and Beige,' 'Three Black Kings,' 'New World a-Comin' ' and 'Harlem.' The first three are distinguished by performances from saxophonists Frank Wess and Jimmy Heath and pianist Sir Roland Hanna, respectively. Among the highlights are tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves' sumptuous reading of 'Where or When,' clarinetist Jimmy Hamilton's glowing interpretation of 'Tenderly' and Ellington's pensive piano arrangement of 'All the Things You Are.' American Composers Orchestra 'Four Symphonic Works by Duke Ellington' (Musicmasters). Recorded in 1957, this new reissue finds the maestro and his men refurbishing several standards, including three of his own - 'Mood Indigo,' 'Solitude' and 'Prelude to a Kiss.' Tailored to prevailing popular taste, the arrangements are chiefly notable for the sympathetic settings they provide the soloists. Duke Ellington 'Duke Ellington Indigos' (Columbia). Some of the early selections reflect Ellington's close ties to the Cotton Club, such as the bravura performance by Cootie Williams, Barney Bigard and (Tricky) Sam Nanton on 'The New Black and Tan Fantasy,' the album's relentlessly surging title track, and altoist Hodges' leisurely version of 'I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart.' If some other tunes reflect the demand for commercial ballroom swing as much as anything else, 'Prelude to a Kiss,' 'Blue Light' and other performances offer more than ample compensation. Although this represents a sizable slice of prime-time Ellingtonia, the Smithsonian boxed set - 'Duke Ellington: An Explosion of Genius' - covers the same period (and two years beyond) in far greater detail. Duke Ellington 'Braggin' in Brass - The Immortal 1938 Year' (Columbia). Included here are 'Daybreak Express,' a gregarious cousin to 'The A Train' 'Creole Rhapsody,' one of Ellington's first ambitious compositions the spritely 'Washington Wobble,' reflecting hometown energy and the elegant 'Flaming Youth,' the first number Ellington wrote for Johnny Hodges.

Louis Toodle-oo,' 'Creole Love Call,' 'Mood Indigo,' 'Solitude'), as are many of the musicians (Cootie Williams, Harry Carney, Bubber Miley, Sam Nanton), but among Ellington's gifts were a knack for reshaping his own standards and thus rechallenging their interpreters.

Many of the titles are familiar ('East St. This is the prelude to a blooming, concluding Ellington's first decade of recording and the shaping of an orchestral compositional approach that would remain unique and vital for almost half a century. Here's a look at some recent additions to his vast and ever-growing discography: Duke Ellington 'Early Ellington (1927-1934)' (RCA-Bluebird). COMPILING a Duke Ellington record collection is a pastime limited only by one's devotion and bank account.

Elemental studio percussion