'Isfahan' by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn

I have loved this song ever since paying the original version in big band during my undergrad. Well, technically I listened to them play it because there was no vibes player in the Ellington band, hence no part for me. But I was taken away by the lushness of the harmony and that melody, which, to me, evokes a far away place in an ancient time. This was taken from a gig I did at Sam First in LA back in 2019 with a really sweet group of cats - Josh Nelson on piano, Jake Leckie on bass, and Kevin van den Elzen on drums (who was also kind enough to edit this video for me). I'm posting this a month into the COVID-19 quarantine, and watching the interaction and joy on all of our faces while we played really reminds me of how much I love making music with other great musicians, who also happen to be dear friends. I can't wait until we are able to once again convene and re-establish these deep bonds that are the life blood of our community.