On May 1,1962, Duke Ellington had booked his Orchestra into A&R Recording Studio in New York but had no idea what to record. He had written no new music for the date and was at a loss until his tenor saxophonist, Paul Gonsalves walked in, the first to arrive, looking fresh, energetic and happy. Gonsalves so many times was tardy and hung over but not today. This gave Duke his bright idea. He would do a bunch of tunes that the band knew but feature Gonsalves on every song. It was an overdue tribute to Paul, one of the great underrated tenor saxophonists of his time. Every major saxophonist from Rollins, Getz, Stitt, Coltrane, Griffin et al respected Gonsalves for his creativity and his range of emotions on the horn. Nothing stumps Mr. Gonsalves in this feature date for him. There is a great variety of moods and feels and he nails them all. You, the listener can't go wrong with the Ellington Orchestra and Paul Gonsalves! Enjoy!

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