I am a huge admirer of the music of Duke Ellington, whom I consider to be the greatest composer of the twentieth century. Since perhaps half the music I listen to consists of Bach, Ellington, and Yes, I feel that a recording of some of Duke's music in arrangements for solo electric bass would complete the trilogy as well as enable me to pay homage to his compositional genius. Obviously Duke played with some great bassists over the years (Jimmy Blanton, Ray Brown, and Charles Mingus being foremost among them), but his main instrument is always said to have been his orchestra (though I must say I have a lot of respect for his small-group recordings and most particularly his solo piano work). I'm not sure how successful I'd be in translating his sometimes large forms and always interesting tone-colors to the medium of the solo electric bass, but I feel that the attempt is eminently worth making. So far I think such a recording might include the following pieces: