Duke Ellington ESSENTIAL DUKE ELLINGTON, THE

Personnel: Duke Ellington (piano); Ivie Anderson (vocals); Lonnie Johnson, Fred Guy (guitar); Barney Bigard (clarinet, saxophone); Harry Carney (clarinet, baritone saxophone); Johnny Hodges (clarinet); Otto Hardwick (alto saxophone, bass saxophone); Jabbo Smith (trumpet); Juan Tizol (valve trombone); Bass Edwards (tuba); Billy Strayhorn (piano); Hayes Alvis, Billy Taylor (bass instrument); Sonny Greer (drums).Given the staggering number of Duke Ellington collections available and the bandleader/composer/pianist's decades-spanning career, it's difficult to determine the best compilations. Columbia/Legacy's two-disc ESSENTIAL DUKE ELLINGTON ranks among the finest, however. Drawing from more than 30 years of recordings for multiple labels (Columbia, Okeh, Brunswick), this 37-track set ranges from 1927's sauntering "East St. Louis Toodle-oo" to 1960's mysterious, woodwind-heavy "Arabesque Cookie."Most of the tunes here, though, date back to Ellington's peak years--the late '20s to early '4