In 1962, Jazz legends Duke Ellington and Coleman Hawkins finally realized a joint project that had been in both of their minds for 20+ years, but had eluded their incredibly busy parallel careers.On November 18 of that year, the two giants finally got in the studio together, and the results made for a highly enjoyable listening experience. My favorite track on Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins is the light and catchy calypso inflected opener Limbo Jazz. According to the album's liner notes, the number was composed spontaneously by Ellington on the spot while Hawkins was changing a reed. The engineers rolled tape, though the musicians were unaware of this, as indicated by drummer Sam Woodyard's unselfconscious singing.

Limbo Jazz