Duke Ellington "Far East Suit" 1967

                The title sounds exotic, right?  And it is, just in a heavily jazzy way.  I bought this with no prior knowledge other than the fact that Duke is the king, and the cover and title were appealing.  The funny thing is that even though it is supposed to be inspired by the Far East, it actually has more of a jungle vibe than many other records with “jungle” in the title do.  This is dark and pulsating, thick and hot, complex and woody.  It’s very much a “Far East” record, but it has that low rumble of a jungle LP. 

                The opening chord played by the horns in “Tourist Point of View” is so dense, the notes so close together, that it feels like someone’s put a mosquito net on your face.  The ride cymbal in the background clanks away and the sax moans and moans then screams like a flaming teapot.  This reminds me of some heavy Mingus stuff.  I know Mingus was inspired by Duke, but I’m more familiar with Mingus’ music.  As I’m listening to this, my pulse is a bit elevated, and my breaths are shorter than usual.  Its burning intensity affects you physically.  It’s like the coals at the bottom of the fire. 

                “Bluebird of Delhi (Mynah)” is brilliant.  Birdcalls are some of the bread and butter in Exotica, but rarely are they actually played by instruments.  In this case, a clarinet plays a repeating figure before launching into an almost cartoonesque (as in animated, fun, and energetic) solo.  Have you ever walked into a room and suddenly been confronted by an animal staring at you.  It’s a weird feeling.  If I had to write a story to this song, I would say this: A man walks into a room and sees a bird staring at him.  The bird makes some strange noise at him, and then suddenly flies around the room knocking every piece of glass off the shelves it can find.  It then settles, stares deeply into the man’s eyes, and gives the same call as before, just as the man’s friends walk into the room. 

                “Blue Pepper” is my favorite on the record, and is typically the one I have to listen to more than once.  This one has some serious swankiness to it and really grooves to that “Now Sound” beat.  There are massive amounts of space in the solos, which really lets you concentrate on how fat that groove is.  This is part spy movie, and part old-school strip tease.  The melody is slippery as an eel, but still easy to hold onto.  I am not sure I would want this to be my theme song, but if people happened to think of this song as I walked into a room, then I think we would all be better off.  Also, is it just me or does the trumpet seem impossibly high?

                “Amad” sounds the most Middle Eastern out of the lot.  I love jazz with lots of chord changes, but a song like this (with none) really hits the spot for me.  Duke’s melody ideas over the single chord really show you why he is so impressive.  The harmonies scratch at you like a tiger and the metallic piano bubbles in the background.

Tones:  The doubled saxophone on many of these numbers is very appealing.  It’s a very jazzy sound in general, and it sits in my gut well.  There is also some very good use of stereo panning.  Nothing really ping-pongs per se.  It’s more of a call and response between two sets of horns.  You get mid range horns on the left, baritone horns on the right, and solos in the middle.  The drums get a lot of my attention as the songs goes by too. 

Cover Note:  This cover is a cornucopia of Far East imagery.  I feel like the orange background color (lovely by the way) feels a bit like a desert.  Instead of the usually lush and wet Exotica covers, you get one more sandy and arid. 

Price paid:  $5.00 at Gary’s backyard record sale. 

Bottom line:  If you are someone who does not really like jazz a lot, but are into exotic type sounds, this may be good for you.  It’s important to remember that Duke was a composer, so there is a lot more going on here texture wise other than just solos and rhythm.  It’s also nice to have the focus on Middle Eastern sounds in addition to the jungle stuff.  Most of my exotic albums are of the Hawaiian, African, or Latin variety.  This is a wonderful change up.  I think this could easily go in the $10.00 range.