Arkadia Jazz All-Stars & Joanne Brackeen - Sophisticated Lady

“This album contains moments of genuine inspiration, plus a high level of artistry and craftsmanship. Mission accomplished, artfully.” -- Owen Cordle, JazzTimes

The Arkadia Jazz All-Stars is a group established in 1996 as the brainchild of Bob Karcy, Producer, musician, Founder and CEO of Arkadia Records. Karcy’s original goal was to harness the creative brilliance of the Artists on its Arkadia Records labels, along with select guest musicians representing some of Jazz’s biggest stars, to create an unparalleled series of newly recorded, thematically unified studio albums. So far, ten albums have been recorded and three more are in production.
These Arkadia Jazz All-Stars releases have been honored with three Grammy Award Nominations.

Arkadia All-Stars: Thank You, Duke (Our Tribute to Duke Ellington), creates a wonderful tribute to one of Jazz music’s most eminent composers and important personalities. We at Arkadia feel it is important to honor the legacy of some of Jazz’s greats. For our Thank You Series of musical homages, we asked our artists go into the studio and record all new, previously unreleased songs either derived from or influenced by the enduring legacy Jazz’s royalty, in this case, the incomparable Duke Ellington.
Featuring Benny Golson, Joanne Brackeen, T.K. Blue, Billy Taylor, Harold Land, Joris Teepe and the Joe Henderson Project.

With guest performances from Mulgrew Miller, Buster Williams, Eric Reed, James Hurt, Carl Allen, Steve Nelson, Terrell Stafford, Billy Higgins, Don Braden, Chris Potter, Ira Coleman, Horacio " El Negro" Hernandez, Randy Weston.

In this diverse and exciting collection from Arkadia Records recording artists, a talented and multifaceted assemblage of musicians -each in his own style and manner- pays tribute to Duke Ellington, playing tunes Duke wrote or made famous. Ellington´s influence is something for which we will remain in debt for many years to come. As such, we feel very strongly that it is important to say...Thank you, Duke !
Bob Karcy’s ultimate aim is that the Arkadia Jazz All-Stars, in addition to creating new, exciting and stellar music, would emerge as an artistically successful recording group on its own, and would serve as a showcase for the Artists on Arkadia Records, allowing them to create awareness and recognition, and helping them expand beyond their hard core fans.

“Plenty of fine discs have honored Duke this year, and this eclectic album ranks among the best.” -- Bob Young, Boston Herald