(Contemporary Jazz, Post-Bop) Bill Ware - Sir Duke (w/ Marc Ribot) - 2001, MP3, 320 kbps

Vibraphonist Bill Ware -- of the Jazz Passengers, Steely Dan, and Groove Collective -- sets out to create the most unique tribute to Duke Ellington in history and pretty much pulls it off with just his vibes and ace guitarist Marc Ribot. This pairing on an all-Ellington set seems unusual and it is -- in the very best way. Ribot's guitar style, at least since he learned how to play Cuban music, has adapted itself well to Ellington's large harmonic palette and swinging intervallic demeanor, while Ware's lush phrasing and painstaking attention to tonalities and microphonics offer all the warmth and dimensionality necessary to hold the lyrical and atmospheric elements together. The program is from the Ellington/Strayhorn canon; there are no real surprises in the choice of material, with "C Jam Blues," "I Got It Bad," and "In a Sentimental Mood" leading things off. What is immediately noticeable -- besides the clear, ringing tones of Ribot's guitar infused with a delicate but decidedly Latin feel, especially in the way he plays the changes through the meter -- is the arrangements. Carefully laid out, relaxed, and full of nuance and elegance without florid adornment, Ware and Ribot are naturals. When Ware solos in "Caravan" and in "Mood Indigo," Ribot's fat, brilliantly rhythmic chording offers a wide lyric trough for Ware to enter and move around in. The guitar holds a wide space so Ware can move through the changes with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of taste and feeling. And Ware does the same for Ribot on "Come Sunday," with his wide sevenths and ninths on the vibes all warmed up tonally through an amplifier, as Ribot plays about the middle register, taking the melody one step at a time and turning it into gypsy swing. This is a milestone recording for both players and one of the finer Ellington tributes to come from the composer and bandleader's centennial.