I thought I knew what swank was before this day.

I did not.

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So, where the previous Duke record I listened to was a collection of his compositions played by another group of players, Ellington ’55 is a legitimate Duke Ellington record, with the Duke himself behind the piano and the men who played with him playing his tunes the way they played them.

And there’s a huge difference between Ellington’s band and anyone else.

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