***RINGER OF THE WEEK***

Dan Block
From His World To Mine: Plays The Music Of Duke Ellington
Miles High Records
www.mileshighrecords.com
By George W. Harris

This is my kind of release: earth toned tenor saxist Dan Block leads a forward thinking band through the Ellington songbook. Best part about the song selection is that it’s mostly Ellington obscurities from the Depression/WWII era; tunes like “Old King Dooji” and “Cotton Club Stomp” rarely see the light of day here, and they just sound terrific 4 score years later. Backed by a rhythm team of Mike Kanan/p, Lee Hudson/b and Brian Grice/dr, Block brings his breathy tenor to perfect use on tunes like “Kissing Bug” and “New York City Blues” using the timeless themes as modern modal tunes. Block gets a bit frisky with the bass clarinet on “Portrait of Bert Williams” and even throws in some reedy textures on “The Beautiful Indians.” He can play it straight, or twist and turn the songs around, but whichever the direction, he always lands feet first. Amazingly successful romp.