Concert Of Sacred Music, A

Duke Ellington's three Sacred Concerts probably meant more to him personally than anything else he performed. For the first concert, Ellington's 1965 orchestra (which temporarily had Louie Bellson on drums) was augmented by vocalists Brock Peters (who sings "In the Beginning God" rather pompously), the talented but now rather obscure Queen Esther Marrow, Jimmy McPhail, and the Herman McCoy Choir. In addition, tap dancer Bunny Briggs puts on quite a display on "David Danced Before the Lord With All His Might." From the jazz standpoint, the most rewarding selections are an instrumental version of "Come Sunday" (which sounds very much like an excerpt from the "Black, Brown and Beige Suite" rather than an independent song of its own) and Ellington's lengthy solo on "New World a-Coming." But for Ellington's more secular fans, there are literally a couple of hundred more rewarding recordings available. [The 1994 French reissue by BMG retains the original cover art and features eight songs rather than 11, the amount featured on the standard edition.] ~ Scott Yanow|