All Too Soon: The Music of Duke Ellington

When in doubt, keep with the classics. That's what bassist Rodney Whitaker does in delving into jazz's greatest composer and giving eternal songs a modern touch. Whitaker brings together a strong team in trumpet legend Brian Lynch along wit Diego Rivera/ts, Michael Dease/tb,Richard Roe/p, Karriem Riggins-Kavon Gordon and guest vocalist Rockelle Whitaker.

Whitaker's thick and palpable tone is a work of art itself, and it's used well leading into a number of these tunes like a well versed guide at the Cairo Museum. Ly nch's muted horn takes Whitaker's baton on "Just Squeeze Me" for a cozy delight while Diego Rivera's big horn gives an upbeat and muscular "Come Sunday" that feels less like church and more like the following picnic. Rockelle Whitaker's rich voice gives a hip feel to " Mood Indigo" and floats on the lush "Azure." The whole band has a ton of fun on jammers like the heavy hitting "Caravan" and swingmatism of "Cotton Tail." As they say in photography, "You can't take a bad picture of a rose."