I strongly feel that everyone should own Duke Ellington's Money Jungle (which I wrote about for the "Albums You Should Know" column in a past issue of State of Mind). It's Duke in the rare trio setting‚ featuring two fellow legends: Charles Mingus on bass and Max Roach on drums.
This song is all about the vibe -- you couldn't compose the way this feels. You hear the contemplative struggle and tension in the room. And you can smell the cigarette smoke and old must of the studio. You know it was pouring rain that day. Beautiful.
And here's the opening title track. Aggressive. Expressive. And so damn tasty.