DENNIS DAVIS, HIFI+ MAGAZINE, JANUARY 2013

Next to Kind of Blue, Ellington's Indigos may be the biggest jazz audiophile chestnut, an LP every record collector worth his or her salt has made a top priority of bagging. It's a recording made by Columbia in 1958 at the height of its recording prowess, and the fabulous sound achieved in this recording is among the very best things Columbia ever recorded. Ellington was being "rediscovered" in the 1950s and while some may carp that he wasn't up to his earlier standards, the sessions he recorded for Columbia are still among recorded music's highest achievements.

The arrangements and song selection on this album are out of this world. Paul Gonsalves' solo on "Where or When" is one of the most beautiful recordings he ever made. This reissue by Impex was mastered by Kevin Gray. The highs have not disappeared from the tapes--cymbals retain their shimmer and the upper registers of the piano have not suffered from tape degradation. Indeed, in the high frequencies the Impex has more information than my original pressing. Improvements can also be noted in the middle registers, where the instruments have a slightly fuller, more textured sound than on the already fine original. This is ear and soul candy wrapped in a tidy package.