Along with the output of Bill Evans' great but short-lived group with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian, Money Jungle is one of the most profoundly expressive piano trios ever committed to disc.

Recorded less than a fortnight before Duke's other great collaboration with a generation-younger musician (his Impulse! album with John Coltrane) originally released on United Artists – it wasn't issued on Blue Note until 1987 – it's notable for its remarkably free interpretations of Ducal material (Ellington originals, four of which were written specially for this session, plus the Juan Tizol collaboration ‘Caravan’).

It's worth remembering that at this time Ellington was still primarily known as a bandleader and composer and was not associated with either small groups or with post-bop music, and it must have come as quite a shock to hear him in this setting back in 1962. Despite alleged tensions during the recording sessions, the three musicians mesh together brilliantly, achieving the perfect balance between antagonism and an almost telepathic empathy. Mingus' extraordinary, roiling bass is matched in its power by Roach's polyrhythms, but it's Duke who's the star. Always an underrated pianist, here he is at his elliptical, questing best, pushed into new territory by his much younger collaborators and framed by the small group setting. This is Ellington – a man born in the 19th century and hitherto associated with the swing/big band era – playing the jazz modernist, pushing the musical envelope just as the swinging sixties kick off, and it's wondrous to behold.

The quality of the music, then, is a given, so let's move to matters of presentation: this latest in the series of Blue Note's Tone Poet reissues maintains the quality of its predecessors: packaged in a heavyweight deluxe Stoughton Printing ‘Old Style’ gatefold tip-on sleeve, the record has been beautifully mastered by renowned engineer Kevin Gray and pressed on high-quality, super-quiet 180g vinyl.

Audiophiles will be pleased to hear that Gray went back to the original master tapes and worked entirely in the analogue domain – the result is superb sound which teleports the musicians straight into your living room. Expensive at around £33, this Tone Poet (like the rest of the series) is nonetheless a worthwhile investment for collectors and hi-fi freaks alike. And as a landmark in the history of jazz, it's unreservedly recommended.