The orchestra could shout, wail the blues like nobody else, or intimately seduce a beautiful woman in the front row of the audience with one of those breathy tenor-solos inspired by his 1940s star, Ben Webster. While the Duke was still there, you were reminded that the personality and showmanship, the charisma of the jazz musician was still an important facet of our enjoyment. Jazz could still be glamorous and 'showbiz' without losing one whit of musicianship. So, go home and put on an Ellington record. The room will fill instantly with his personality and musical genius.
Every note is important.
The star soloists, great as they were, assume greater stature within the environment of that amazing orchestra. That's when you know you're missing Duke Ellington. Unbelievably, it's over 20 years since he died and the magic faded away, leaving trails of glory in the form of over 400 LPs-worth of recordings. Today, there seems to be nothing around that's anything like it. But then, there probably never was.