Duke Ellington couldn’t have asked for a better birthday present than this. In commemoration of the legendary jazz composer’s 100th birthday, RCA Victor has released this stunning, twenty-four CD retrospective covering Ellington’s prolific 40-plus-year recording career with the label, including everything from a raucous 1930 arrangement of “Jungle Nights in Harlem” to such brilliant later orchestrations as “Take the ‘A’ Train,” “Sophisticated Lady” and “Mercuria, the Lion.”

Orrin Keepnews, who produced the Centennial Edition, along with engineering partner Steve Lasker, borrowed some key material from Fantasy Records in order to fortify the collection with all three of Ellington’s famed Sacred Concerts. Beginning with a 1927 recording of “Black and Tan Fantasy” the compilation serves as an extraordinary testament to the innovation and creative genius of a man whom many regard as one of America’s greatest composers.

To insure that the sonic quality of the collection would not disappoint, Keepnews and Lasker transferred all of the tracks from the best available source materials before reproducing them. While most of the selections have been previously released on CD, The Centennial Edition includes all known alternates such as a 1966 recording of “Isfahan,” as well as unissued material such as a 1929 recording of “Doing the Voom Voom” and a magnificent 1941 version of “Menelik-The Lion of Judah.”

Keepnews has divided the collection up into six sections which. in their entirety, span Ellington’s career from 1927 to 1973. RCA Victor has aIso included a beautifully written 128-page book featuring compelling essays on Ellington by Dan Morgenstern, Stanley Crouch and Brian Priestley.

Since Ellington recorded more material for RCA Victor than for any other Iabel, it seems only fitting that the company would honor this mammoth of western civilization with what is perhaps the most extraordinary jazz retrospective ever released.