The thinking behind this great value (at around £16) set is simple, and compelling: collate all of Duke's 77 chart hits between 1927 and 1954 (plus a number of ‘selected significant recordings’), the majority of them recorded for Victor and Brunswick. Kicking off with ‘East St Louis Toodle-Oo’ and concluding around five hours later with the Louie Bellson showcase ‘Skin Deep’, this collection is the jazz equivalent of listening to The Beatles’ canon chronologically – first of all, we encounter a youthful artist possessed of an unerring ear for a tune who's bringing previously-unheard of levels of wit, sophistication and tonal colour to a young art form; within a few years, said artist has become the pre-eminent writer in the field, piling innovation upon invention, riches upon riches, and raising standards all the time.

With the advent of the LP record and, later, rock ‘n’ roll, Duke would move in new and equally fruitful directions with longer compositions, but here he is in the first part of his career, writing what are essentially ‘pop’ hits.

The best stuff on this collection is on the third disc, as it contains tunes by the magnificent ‘Blanton-Webster’ orchestra of the early 1940s, when Ellington – backed by what might be his best-ever band – attained total mastery of writing for the 78rpm format with its four-minutes-maximum time constraints, culminating with perhaps the single greatest piece of jazz of the era, the majestic ‘Harlem Air Shaft’.

The only small caveat is that the sound quality and/or mastering isn't always as good as it could be. But with this much music, of this kind of quality, and at this price, that just seems like petty quibbling.