In 1999, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and Mulgrew Miller came together in a unique and unlikely pairing to pay tribute to Duke Ellington on the 100th anniversary of his birth. The result was a passionate and long-lived musical partnership between two masters of their respective instruments, but the original recordings were never released. For the first time ever, more than 20 years after its recording, this lost treasure is finally made available to the public. The duo was initially brought together by Bang & Olufsen and set out to celebrate Ellington and his partnership with bassist Jimmy Blanton. With the help of Per Arnoldi, who is also credited with the albums artwork, NHØP was approached to take part and tapped Mulgrew Miller to tackle a series of Ellingtons classic themes and a couple of their own. He saw the opportunity to work with Mulgrew Miller, a pianist whom he admired and had not yet had the opportunity to work with, and this decision paid off greatly for both of them. A great musical and personal partnership was born, and the duos captivating chemistry is obvious from the first notes.

REVIEW:

Miller and NHØP make a good team for these 12 Ellington selections, blending well together in a give and take fashion throughout. They launch into C Jam Blues enthusiastically, piano chords dominating at first but NHØP contributing a sturdy bass line. They work always as compatible equals. Mood Indigo and Come Sunday are standout tracks, played at slow tempo for the most part. Blues In The PM’s is Miller’s composition, his only one and NHØP wrote O.D. Blues. Both men shine in their respective blues lines. Caravan is credited to Duke here, but I believe Juan Tizol had a hand in the composition.

-- JazzJournal.co.uk (Derek Ansell)