Mood Ellington

Acclaimed vocalist Paul Marinaro has released his fifth album, Mood Ellington, and the results are nothing short of triumphant. This ambitious project, into which Marinaro has poured a massive amount of work and passion, proves that every ounce of effort was well worth it. Mood Ellington is a 25-track double-disc exploration of songs written by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, and it stands as both a tribute and a reinvention of two of jazz's most towering composers.

For this project, Marinaro enlisted 13 accomplished arrangers, each bringing a unique voice to their charts and contributing to a narrative arc that flows beautifully across the set. The project is completed by Marinaro's beautiful, deep baritone voice and his impeccable stylized phrasing, which feels both timeless and deeply personal.
Marinaro thoughtfully divides the album into three thematic sets:

• Set One celebrates love and beauty with the first nine songs.
• Set Two moves into more introspective and somber territory.
• Set Three — on Disc Two — offers eight songs that feel more realistic, sardonic, mature, and exotic, rounding out an emotional and musical journey.

The 13 world-class arrangers contributing to Mood Ellington include: John Kornegay, Alan Broadbent, John Clayton, Carey Deadman, Chuck Israels, Mike Downes, Ryan Cohan, Jim Gailloreto, Bill Cunliffe, Chuck Owen, Tom Garling, Tom Matta, and Mike Allemana — a veritable who's who of contemporary jazz orchestrators.

Paul Marinaro's vocal personality, style, and rich baritone are ideally suited to the material. When you add the high-level musicians performing behind him and these marvelous arrangements, the result is easily one of the finest Ellington interpretations recorded in recent years. Mood Ellington captures the genius and spirit of Ellington and Strayhorn and puts new life into each of their compositions. My hat goes off to Paul Marinaro — for his beautiful vocals, his artistic vision, and for seeing this monumental project through to publication.