In the run-up to his 70th birthday, Duke Ellington was already acknowledged as the great historical figure of African-American music, honoured with academic degrees and appearing on the front pages of renowned magazines. Yet he still felt driven to perform as much as possible, and so he set out to tour the world with his orchestra, taking in Japan, North Africa, South America and Eastern Europe. During these travels, he was able to stop off in Stuttgart in March 1967 to present a colourful mixed programme that comprised a few tried-and-tested pieces and many lesser-known compositions. By Ellington’s standards, it was a modern concert, exuberant in mood and at times mischievous in arrangements that sported some shrill colouring. It also showed that a basically traditional jazz orchestra performing in the rock-era ‘60s could still generate enough charisma to enthrall an audience such as that gathered in the Liederhalle. Revolutions were now being created by others, but Duke Ellington remained the brilliant master of the grand musical gesture.