The California-based arranger Masters has addressed Ellingtonia before. Now his expanded Ensemble is tackling the compositions recorded when that marvellous conjunction of talents, bassist Jimmy Blanton and tenorist Ben Webster, were in the Duke's early 1940s band, the trigger this time being the availability of veteran trombonist Art Baron, almost the last man standing among former Ellingtonians.

Masters is not attempting to recreate the immortal Ducal sound, rather to place his own interpretations on the repertoire of the time. You'll notice the lack of a pianist, trombonist Baron the principal soloist, staying true to himself, not for one minute seeking to sound like Laurence Brown. In fact, there's rather more of a Vic Dickenson influence evident in his playing than I'd realised from having heard him live in New York. He's purposefully brazen on ‘All Too Soon’ and carries the theme of ‘Jack The Bear’ in glorious fashion, swinging hard and using the plunger, the ensemble writing barely hinting at the original. No bass solos on this one. Hagens solos on ‘What Am I Here For’, his fragmentary late-Miles sound far removed from the certainties of Ducal trumpet stylists and baritone man Schroeder pops up often, his sound nearer to Pepper Adams than Carney as he tackles the melody of ‘I Got It Bad’.

And there's the relevance and the pleasure of the album and its many felicities. It offers a contemporary view of classic material, re-imagined and sounding good. The very rewarding Baron deserves to be heard more widely: on this evidence he has plenty of gas left in the tank. Although ‘Mellotone’ most nearly echoes the original and Lett performs brilliantly throughout, Ducal specialists may baulk at Masters' many liberties. Others should investigate.