This collection compiles, for the first time on a single disc issue, all the master takes of the instrumental recordings in which Duke Ellington participated for Mercer Records between 1950 and 1951. Made under the names of other band members - for contractual reasons, these sides feature the likes of Johnny Hodges, Oscar Pettiford, Max Roach, Billy Strayhorn, Louie Bellson, Juan Tizol and Willie Smith. These sides remain among the most unusual and fascinating in Duke's extensive catalogue. Unfortunately, the masters for these recordings were destroyed in a fire in the 1950's. For this issue they have been transferred and restored from the best possible surviving sources and remastered to the best quality possible.
