This album, from 1949, is one of the first attempts to compile Ellington's classic early recordings in a single package. Producer George Avakian did a wonderful job in representing the best of Ellington from the late 20's to the middle forties. The great instrumentalists are well represented as well as a couple of great vocals by Al Hibbler, the greatest of Ellington's male vocalists. Sadly, this compilation has never found its way to CD, although all the selections are on CD in one compilation or another.