Although some of these multi-CD sets from Storyville have been a bit hit and miss, this one is excellent value, with seven CDs and a DVD giving a cross-section of Ellington's work from the pre-Newport early 1950s to the triumphant final period, ending less than two years before his death. It is also complemented by very fine liner notes from Jazzwise's own Brian Priestley, which act as a detailed roadmap to every highway and byway of the collection. Some Storyville boxes string together Scandinavian concerts and other ephemera, and then add a justifying commentary. That is not the case here, with US and European studio recordings mingling with live concerts (for the most part well-recorded) and broadcasts to give a really solid account of the band's development over 20 years, as well as some intriguing alternative accounts of well-known pieces, such as four movements of the ‘New Orleans Suite’. Although the personnel fluctuated, the core of players actually changed little, with older musicians (Williams, Hodges, Glenn) returning to the fold, and others dipping in and out, so that the essentially Ellingtonian sound evolves slowly. There are small groups too, but the core is orchestral, and the highlight is the DVD from 1962. Here's the band rather formally set up in a New York studio, replete with white tuxedos and it plays a five-number selection with not a shred of sheet music in sight, yet with some tricky bits of arrangement thrown in. We see Ray Nance recreate his ‘A Train’ solos, and Hodges blow through ‘Things Ain't What They Used To Be’. Though Leon Cox looks fidgety and uncomfortable on the end of the trombone section his playing is fine, and it's good to see Shorty Baker actually moving along to the music while Hodges occasionally rolls his eyes skywards. It's a lesson in long-term big band survival, yet so beautifully played and such a poignant illustration to the audio treats elsewhere in the box. Definitely one of the better Ellington releases of the last couple of years.