Some of the finest jazz pianists in the world have been issuing all-Ellington albums the past few years. A list of my favorites would include Promenade with Duke by Michel Petrucciani, Dave Grusin’s Homage to Duke, Dick Hyman plays Duke Ellington, The Duke Ellington Songbook by Monty Alexander and Marcus Roberts plays Ellington.

Ellis Marsalis’ new tribute, Duke In Blue, is not a bad album by any means, but it certainly cannot be placed in the aforementioned company. Roberts, Hyman, Alexander and the others are virtuosi who cover the whole spectrum of jazz piano. Ellis, in his refreshingly candid liner notes, admits to being a bebopper who came late to playing Ellington’s music. And Duke’s greatest work, from 1927-42, has little to do with bop.

Duke in Blue is at it’s best when the energy level is high. “Caravan” rocks along nicely, with a left-hand ostinato suggestive of a Cuban tumbao. “Just Squeeze Me” begins with a funky left-hand figure, and Johnny Hodges’ “Squatty Roo” has jagged left-hand accents that remind one of Ellis’ own “Zee Blues.” Even when the music is subdued, Ellis’ voicing are tasty and his touch is always refined. One just wishes that a major jazz pianist working with the tunes of the greatest jazz composer of all would produce something spectacular instead of something merely pleasant.