AchievementJanuary 1967· music
Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn Record 'The Far East Suite'
Ellington and Strayhorn's suite based on their 1963 State Department tour of the Middle East and South Asia was one of Strayhorn's last major works before his death. A masterpiece of orchestral jazz, it demonstrated that Ellington at 68 remained at the height of his creative powers.