{"product_id":"duke-ellington-far-east-suite-orange-holland-import","title":"Duke Ellington - Far East Suite [Orange Holland Import]","description":"\u003cp\u003eDuke Ellington's Far East Suite arrives on limited orange 180-gram vinyl, a Holland import of one of the most inventive records of his later career.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecorded in 1966 and released the following year, the suite grew out of the orchestra's 1963 State Department tour through the Middle East and South Asia, along with a later visit to Japan. Ellington and his longtime writing partner Billy Strayhorn didn't try to imitate the music they heard; instead they translated their impressions of places, colors and atmospheres into the band's own language.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Isfahan\" is the jewel, a ravishing ballad built around Johnny Hodges' achingly lyrical alto saxophone, as lush and fragrant as the Persian city it's named after. \"Blue Pepper (Far East of the Blues)\" is something else entirely, a gritty, swaggering blues with a fiery high-note finish.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Tourist Point of View\" opens the album with sly coloring and a wry title to match, while the closing \"Ad Lib on Nippon\" stretches into an extended showcase that gives Ellington's piano and Jimmy Hamilton's clarinet plenty of room.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt's widely regarded as one of Ellington's greatest late works, a travelogue in sound from a bandleader still reaching for new ideas decades into his career. Pressed in bright orange, it looks every bit as warm as it sounds.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Alliance Entertainment","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57439073829169,"sku":"8719262032972","price":39.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0704\/2026\/7313\/files\/Duke_Ellington-Far_East_Suite_Orange_Holland_Import.jpg?v=1794152586","url":"https:\/\/vinyl.com\/products\/duke-ellington-far-east-suite-orange-holland-import","provider":"Vinyl.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}