The new album of Japanese pianist Aki Takase is dedicated to pianist and composer Duke Ellington.
Swiss record label Intakt Records has released the album under the name My Ellington. It’s a collection of 12 reinterpretations of Ellington’s compositions among which are Solitude, In A Mellow Tone and It Don’t Mean a Thing, and one Aki Takase original – Lotus Pond, dedicated to this great artist.
Aki Takase is best known for her excellent technique and her talent for improvisation, as well as for her love for the jazz classics. After she paid tribute to Fats Waller and Ornette Coleman with the albums Aki Takase – Plays “Fats” Waller (2004) and Ornette Coleman Anthology (2007), My Ellington is a solo album that examines Ellington’s music from different angles.