In 1969, in a historical context of euphoria and tension, Duke Ellington and his orchestra took part in the IV Barcelona Jazz Festival with performances at the Palau de la Música and a concert of sacred music in the basilica of Santa Maria del Mar, in which, by the very nature of the concert, the Sant Jordi Choir directed by Oriol Martorell will also take part. .
On the thirtieth anniversary of that unforgettable event, LA LOCOMOTORA NEGRA and LA CORAL SANT JORDI agreed to commemorate those indescribable, unforgettable moments, to make people relive today. The presentation of this concert of sacred music "Memorial Duke Ellington" took place at the Palau de la Música on November 26, 1999, the date from which most of the songs recorded on this double CD come.
The program of this concert is mainly made up of a selection of themes from the Second Sacred Concert (the one he offered in Santa Maria del Mar), also some excerpts from his first sacred concert and a couple of introductory themes. , one by LA LOCOMOTORA NEGRA, the other by CORAL SANT JORDI. The treatment given to many of the subjects of the recording faithfully follows the versions recorded by Duke Ellington, others have been arranged with a certain degree of freedom on their part.