Centennial Collection
Since Duke Ellington's 1999 centennial actually occurred five years before this release, you would think the well of his unreleased recordings would be dry. But for this package, part of theCentennial Collectionsseries that combines a CD with a DVD of historical material, Bluebird has unearthed seven previously unheard performances from a pair of 1941 radio broadcasts. While there's nothing earthshaking here, anything that further documents the legendary and short-lived Blanton/Webster band, featuring bassist Jimmy Blanton and tenor saxophonistBen Webster, is worth having. The rest of the CD is mostly '30s and '40s classics available on any number of compilations, but the DVD is chock full of collectible goodies including the impressionistic short filmSymphony in Black(1934), which briefly features a youngBillie Holiday; a 1937 short,Record Making with Duke Ellington and his Orchestra; five "soundies" from 1941; a "Jamboree" short of four pieces; and a 1941 audio interview in which Duke cheerfully tolerates a clueless questioner.--Lloyd Sachs