Sounds sleepy – but it's totally groovy!! The mad talents of Italian soundtrack genius Piero Umiliani are turned towards his love of Duke Ellington – and the result is an incredibly groovy batch of tracks that mix up jazz, electronics, and plenty of great keyboards! The bulk of the material on the set was recorded in 1974 – and it features Umiliani playign moog and ARP, in a strange sort of "tribute" to Ellington that takes the usual Duke tunes, and turns them into hard grooving little numbers, with lots of bubbling electronic bits and weird sound effects. The first cut on the set is a mad mad version of "Caravan" which leaps and churns all over the place, sounding funkier than you could ever imagine! As the set progresses, some of the tracks are more traditionally jazz-based, but everything is played by a larger group, and the groove is still pretty darn excellent! Titles include "Ode To Duke Ellington", "Solitude", "Dreaming Of Duke", "Jeep's Blues", and "Never Together". (Jazz, Now Sound) CD

An album of drum-heavy tracks recorded by drummer Panama Francis – who at this point could boast a long career working with jazz luminaries like Duke Ellington, Lucky Millinder, and Cab Calloway. The set's got Francis using his drums to cook up a rock-like beat on a set of instrumentals. Most of the cuts have a honking sax or other instrument up front to create that "rock and roll" groove – but the best numbers feature Francis' drums in a more unfettered setting. Titles include "Exploding Drums", "Hit The Road Jack", "Panama The Drummer Boy", and "Sticks & Stones". (Jazz, Now Sound) LP, Vinyl record album