Beyond Category: The Musical Genius of Duke Ellington [Cassette] (1994)

About this title: This 1999 two-CD set should not be confused with an identically titled double-disc set from RCA/BMG that dates from a decade earlier. That set, which came in a somewhat awkward longbox and was mastered in the '80s, was merely adequate for its time, but this Buddha-imprinted version has been remastered, upgraded, and reconfigured into a more convenient shape and size -- and is even cheaper than the old collection. That's the upside of the Buddha version; the obvious downside is that representing Ellington's career within the scope of 37 tracks is a near-impossible task. But Beyond ... read more

Tracks:

1. East St. Louis Toodle-Oo [Ellington/Miley]
2. Black and Tan Fantasy [Ellington/Miley]
3. Creole Love Call [Ellington]
4. Black Beauty [Ellington]
5. Old Man Blues [Ellington/Mills]
6. Mood Indigo [Ellington/Bigard/Mi]
7. Rockin' in Rhythm [Ellington/Carney/Mi]
8. Creole Rhapsody, Pts. 1 & 2 [Ellington]
9. Daybreak Express [Ellington]
10. Delta Serenade [Ellington]
11. Jack the Bear [Ellington]
12. Ko Ko [Ellington]
13. Concerto for Cootie [Ellington]
14. Cotton Tail [Ellington]
15. Dusk [Ellington]
16. Pitter Panther Patter [Ellington]
17. Across the Track Blues [Ellington]
18. Mobile Bay [Stewart/Ellington]
19. Take the "A" Train [Strayhorn]
20. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) [Ellington/Webster]
21. Subtle Slough [Ellington]
22. Passion Flower [Strayhorn]
23. Things Ain't What They Used to Be [Ellington/Persons]
24. Chelsea Bridge [Strayhorn]
25. Moon Mist [Ellington]
26. Main Stem [Ellington]
27. I'm Beginning to See the Light [James/Ellington/Hod]
28. Carnegie Blues [Ellington]
29. Transblucency (A Blue Fog That You Can Almost See Through) [Brown/Ellington]
30. Harlem Suite [Ellington]
31. Caravan [Ellington/Tizol/Mil]
32. Come Sunday [Ellington]
33. Isfahan [Ellington/Strayhorn]
34. Ad Lib on Nippon [Ellington]
35. Blood Count [Strayhorn]
36. The Intimacy of the Blues [Strayhorn]
37. Lotus Blossom [Strayhorn]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.