DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER - Prelude To A Kiss : The Duke Ellington Album (1996) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

This release is more properly identified as a various artists compilation, which includes the pop sounds of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Most of the orchestrations and arrangements are pleasant, even if they're not blatantly original. Alto saxophonist Bobby Watson is superb on "Mood Indigo" and the exotic "Fleurette Africaine." The orchestra does a fine job with the rarely heard suite "Night Creature." Singer Dee Dee Bridgewater shines frequently; backed by a superb quartet including Wynton Marsalis, she delivers a delightful cover of "I'm Beginning To See The Light." But it is her hypnotic, chanting introduction, backed by Middle Eastern percussion and Steve Turre's conch shells, that gives this release an occasional freshness usually lacking in similar Ellington tributes. by Ken Dryden
Tracklist :
1     Midnight Indigo 2:26
Duke Ellington
2     I'm Beginning to See the Light 5:03
Duke Ellington / Don George / Johnny Hodges / Harry James
3     Bli-Blip 4:16
Duke Ellington / Sid Kuller
4     Fleurette Africaine 3:32
Duke Ellington
5     Prelude to a Kiss 3:52
Duke Ellington / Irving Gordon / Irving Mills
6     Caravan 4:29
Duke Ellington / Irving Mills / Juan Tizol
7     Solitude 4:20
Eddie DeLange / Duke Ellington / Irving Mills
8     Mood Indigo 4:28
Barney Bigard / Duke Ellington / Irving Mills
Night Creature     
9     Fast 4:16
Duke Ellington
10     Andante misterioso 7:29
Duke Ellington
11     Moderato - Faster Swing - Moderato 3:53
Duke Ellington
12     Come Sunday 4:09
Duke Ellington
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Bobby Watson, Charles McPherson
Bass – Ira Coleman
Drum – Jeff Hamilton
Percussion – Cyro Baptista
Piano – Cyrus Chestnut
Trombone – Steve Turre
Trumpet – Wynton Marsalis
Vocals, Percussion, Other [Gimbra] – Hassan Hakmoun