Sacred Music of Duke Ellington

If a repertory orchestra is going to do something, it might as well go big. Here, the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, in combination with the Oregon Repertory Singers and a handful of guests, take on music from Duke Ellington's three Sacred Music concerts. The performances are flawless, running the range from gospel to jazz to something mighty close to American opera, with nary a false note. And the compositions are of the highest caliber, of course essentially by definition, given their creator. An excellent album, with work rivaled only by the original performances from Duke and his band. However, even Duke would be impressed with their rendition of "In the Beginning God."