Promenade With Duke
While 1999'sEllingtoncentenary launched a number of new tributes, homages to Duke have been appearing regularly since the '50s, as different generations of musicians explored his repertoire. The French pianist Michel Petrucciani, who died in 1999, recorded this solo exploration in 1993, emphasizing some of the most familiar material. Petrucciani brought all of his immense skill to the project, from driving left-hand rhythms to dancing right-hand runs to the dense harmonic explorations that he could add to a ballad. Petrucciani had a deep sense of swing and a vigorous attack, but it's his unabashed Gallic Romanticism that distinguishes this CD, as he turns each piece into a profound rumination, first immersing himself in a theme, then extending it until it seems to disappear in waves of overlapping emotion. His version of the limpidly beautiful "African Flower" is particularly moving. --Stuart Broomer