In Sweden 1973 (Live)

The Duke Ellington Orchestra was a shadow of its former greatness near the end of the maestro's life, with many of his earlier stars deceased, retired or missing at times due to ill health. The only veterans in this concert other than Duke are Russell Procope and Harry Carney; though there are flashes of brilliance, the ensembles lack the cohesion of earlier editions of the band. Most notable are the guests, including singer Alice Babs' feature on "Serenade To Sweden," Norris Turney's warm tribute to the late Johnny Hodges, "Checkered Hat," although her valiant scatting can't quite save a rather sloppy performance of "Spacemen," which probably suffered from a lack of rehearsal. A highlight is "There's Something About Me," a ballad Duke wrote with Babs in mind, on which the composer allows guest Nils Lindberg to play piano. Because of the relatively few available recordings of Alice Babs with Duke Ellington, this CD is worth acquiring, otherwise, it isn't an essential CD.