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Album Review

Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra: Ellington Masterworks

Read "Ellington Masterworks" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
June 18, 2026

When the topic of Duke Ellington's masterworks arises (rarely, it is true, but not implausibly so), the leading candidates usually comprise such popular standards as “Sophisticated Lady," “Mood Indigo," “Prelude to a Kiss" and “Satin Doll"--not one of which is included in the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra's chronicle of Ellington Masterworks, recorded live in April 2024 at MCG Jazz in Pittsburgh, PA. With more than a thousand of Ellington's compositions from which to choose, the SJMO and its ...

Album Review

Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra: Bernstein Reimagined

Read "Bernstein Reimagined" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
January 24, 2021

This impressive anthology by the superb Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra is not so much Bernstein Reimagined as Bernstein Unleashed. The jazz component in Leonard Bernstein's memorable compositions for symphony orchestra, Broadway shows, films and even liturgical works always lay simmering just below the surface. As Bernstein is said to have confided to Duke Ellington: “Maybe that's really the difference between us. You write symphonic jazz, and I write jazz symphonies." However credible the remark, there is no doubt that the ...

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Album Review

The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra: Tribute to a Generation: A Salute to the Big Bands of the WWII Era

Read "Tribute to a Generation: A Salute to the Big Bands of the WWII Era" reviewed by Bob Jacobson

by Bob Jacobson
July 8, 2004

Read the subtitle of this album and you probably won't be disappointed. Look over the song list. Understand that these tunes do not include vocals. Issued to coincide with the recent unveiling of the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., Tribute to a Generation features tunes made famous by Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Benny Carter and Glenn Miller.This album bears the hallmarks of the best Swing Era bands: tight ensemble playing, ...