The Suites, New York 1968 & 1970 is volume five of The Private Collection, a series of compilation albums by Duke Ellington from his archive of unreleased music. The album includes "The Degas Suite", an unreleased soundtrack for an unfinished film consisting of paintings of horse races.[1]
The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow stated: "Ellington is mostly the lead voice but his star sidemen are heard from on these formerly very rare and somewhat unusual performances. Clearly his genius was strong enough to fill three lifetimes full of new music and this CD contains some melodies that might have been more significant if he had lived long enough to find a place for them."[3]
"The River: The Spring/The Run/The Meander/The Giggling Rapids/The Lake/The Falls/The Whirlpool/The River/The Neo-Hip-Hot Kiddies Communities/The Village of the Virgins/Her Majesty the Sea/The Spring"
47:40
Recorded at National Recording Studio, New York on November 6, 1968 (tracks 1.1-1.11), November 23, 1968 (track 1.1), December 3, 1968 (track 1.7), at Universal Studios, Chicago on May 25, 1970 (tracks 2.1-2.5 & 2.12), at National Recording Studio, New York on June 3, 1970 (tracks 2.7-2.10), June 8, 1970 (track 2.6) and June 15, 1970 (track 2.11).
