Far East Suite

Description

Far East Suite is a concept album by American jazz musician Duke Ellington, released in 1967. Ellington and his longtime collaborator Billy Strayhorn wrote the compositions. Strayhorn died in May 1967, making Far East Suite one of the last albums recorded during his lifetime to feature his compositions. The album won the Grammy Award in 1968 for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance - Large Group or Soloist with Large Group. The Penguin Guide to Jazz gives the album a four-star rating, noting that "Ellington's ability to communicate the points of contact and conflict between cultures, assimilating the blues with Eastern modes in pieces like 'Blue Pepper (Far East of the Blues),' never seems overly strained. It remains a post-war peak." Allmusic calls it one of Ellington's "most memorable recordings," describing it as an example of "Ellington and Strayhorn at their late peak" and, as such, "absolutely essential."