Duke Ellington, Black, Brown, & Beige

I took a class on Duke Ellington in college, and thus feel prone to liking albums like this one — indeed, other than A Love Supreme, I can't think of a long-form jazz piece I enjoy more than Black, Brown, & Beige.  Having taught English, though, I know that it's often the case that studying a book can weigh it down more than one you read for pleasure.  Interesting, then, that listening for credit can have a positive influence on music.  Probably, it's Mahalia Jackson's sincere and bold voice that makes me love this work more so than knowing odds and ends about its history and structure.  Duke Ellington's strength as a composer and arranger was playing to the strengths of his assembled orchestra, and he puts Jackson's solo right in her wheelhouse — she belts without being showy, a hallowed rendition of faith.  The theme she sings in "Come Sunday" wends its way throughout the other movements, too, which cleverly makes the piece more accessible for a broader range of listeners.

This album features several takes of Mahalia Jackson singing, mostly welcome though one or two not.  I don't need to hear her get halfway through "Come Sunday" and then announce that she needs to cough.