Duke Ellington - Ellington '66

2012 European CD reissue.

    1 Red Roses for a Blue Lady
    2 Charade
    3 People
    4 All My Lovin'
    5 A Beautiful Friendship
    6 I Want to Hold Your Hand
    7 Days of Wine and Roses
    8 I Can't Stop Loving You
    9 The Good Life
    10 Satin Doll
    11 Moon River
    12 Ellington '66

An even more commercial effort than Ellington '65, Ellington '66 is yet another example of how the change in popular music toward an all rock & roll format found jazz musicians attempting crossover material with varying degrees of success. While much of the music here is standard American Popular Song à la "Satin Doll" and "Red Roses for a Blue Lady," other tracks such as the Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" are clearly attempts at reaching a younger record-buying audience. While Ellington '66 isn't a bad recording and actually bests '65 for sheer listening pleasure, it is by no means required listening and will most likely appeal to die-hard Ellington completists.

Matt Collar ~ AllMusicGuide