Harry James Plays “Take the ‘A’ Train”

As an added extra or two, we hear Billy Strayhorn's great contribution to the Duke Ellington band book about a train named the "A" Train. Ernie Wilkins keeps the his chart as Dukish as possible, down to the piano and rhythm section opening which leads into a brief solo James before a tenor saxist digs in his heels with a muscular solo that drives the entire band. A driving rhythm section spotlighting sporadic chords by the ensemble trading things around with the pianist. There are also numerous quotes from Ellington's works especially "I'm Beginning to See the Light." And as with the original scoring, Wilkins winds everything down to a literally piano ending.