The Complete Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington Sessions

These are the lions in winter, which is not to denigrate the mellow goings-on here, but more to say that this 1961 summit meeting finds the titular giants trés engagé rather than volatile and competitive. The fare is all Ellington tunes, the band is Armstrong's All-Stars, led by Duke on piano. Louis is long past the pyrotechnics of "West End Blues" and the Bessie Smith session, but still offers up some heart-tugging solos that remind us his genius was as much in the expressions of his heart as it was in his embouchure and astonishing instincts (check out "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good"). Duke plays it gently throughout, an engaging minimalist in this context, and you hear something of the spare impressionism that must have gripped Bill Evans and Vince Guaraldi in their youth. All indirect light and muted repartee, The Complete Sessions surprises in unexpected ways. --David McGee