In the winter of 1973, at the Congress Theatre, Eastbourne on the Sussex coast, Duke Ellington gave what was to be his final public performance. The finest jazz tune smith, and his band - somewhat depleted of some of it's finest improvisers due to death or retirement, gave what was seen upon the release of the album of the concert on RCA, as a valedictory performance. Not widely known at the time was that the Duke was suffering from the cancer that would kill him shortly after. Inevitably, the recording was shot through with magic, majesty, travesty and weariness. It was not appreciated, understood or valued by the critics. Bassist Arnie Somogyi and pianist Mark Edwards have revisited the Eastbourne concert, and rather than accept the rather negative view of the album, found it possessed a solid core to mine, and the result is this affectionate reimagining of the 1973 concert, with some new works created from the improvs played by the Duke in between numbers. A fascinating fact about the new album, recorded in Eastbourne in a studio just a hundred yards from The Congress is that the very same piano played by Ellington is played by Mark Edwards - the years fall way, and echoes of the Duke and his magic shine through.

At the heart of the story of jazz is the story of an interaction between two dynamic elements - the improvising musician, and the song. David Forman, well known as a concert photographer and one of the UK's foremost aficionados of jazz, has been composing songs for seventy years. Under the direction of renowned pianist and producer Mark Edwards, a fabulous team of creative jazz musicians have brought David's songs to life. David's compositions arise from the inspirations of his long and eventful life given shape and direction by his enduring love of the Great American Songbook tradition: unafraid to embrace sophistication but always adhering to the timeless appeal of direct melody.