Best of Duke Ellington
is a ten-track budget-priced collection that features some of his biggest pop hits, including
"Jump for Joy,"
"New Mood Indigo, " "Mack the Knife" and "Where's the Music?, " but there are also a lot of songs that won't be particularly familiar to large audiences. Furthermore, the sampler nature of this disc -- especially since there are no sources given for the recordings -- makes it unappealing to jazz collectors. Nevertheless, it's not bad for a budget-priced disc, but keep in mind that there are far better collections available, offering more songs and better sound for not much more money. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine