Smith's SNJO has become one of the great adornments of our British jazz scene, the personnel invariably of the highest quality, their many successful collaborations an apt testimony to their prowess. This time it is to Duke's music that they've turned, with Smith explaining in his comprehensive sleeve note that this album is the outcome of an Ellington-oriented concert tour that took place in October 2012. He says he listened to 135 takes from that tour and selected 16 of the best, and that's what we have here; performances properly honed on the road and clearly the better for it. Smith's omnivorous approach to Duke's music takes in the early promise of ‘Black and Tan Fantasy’, key highlights from the Blanton years like ‘Jack the Bear’ and ‘Harlem Airshaft’, plus selected pieces from the ‘Peer Gynt Suites’ and ‘Queen’s Suites', with Smith in torrential form (23 choruses) on ‘Diminuendo/Crescendo’ as the album's closer. Of course, projects of this kind are fraught with danger – the temptation to replicate, or descending into pastiche, constantly lurks. That said, it's obvious from the off that care has been taken to match the rhythmic feel and to emulate the harmonic richness of the Ducal originals but without emasculating the soloists, principal among them Kellock, the quality of the ensemble playing quite breathtakingly good. No pastiche here, more a healthy respect and regard for the music. Hearing them handle ‘Jack the Bear’ is a joy, Fleming's baritone and O'Malley's plungered trombone prominent before Gourlay (a tower of strength throughout) plays Blanton's timeless coda. Quigley excels on ‘Harlem Airshaft’ and Pattison is brilliant on ‘Prelude To A Kiss’, while Kellock and Smith illuminate ‘Single Petal of A Rose’ rewardingly before Kellock makes a dash for ‘Kinda Dukish’. I could go on but space precludes too much more of my waffle – if you have the slightest interest in Ellington's music and its continuing validity, then this is for you.