Forget the misleading title: though Duke Ellington is heard with his orchestra on these reissued 1960 recordings--not with a trio, as on the exceptional companion release Piano in the Foreground (1961)--he is still very much the table-setter, the driving force, the pilot, the master framer on keyboard. Recorded in Los Angeles, Piano in the Background consists of remakes of Ducal classics including "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)," "I'm Beginning to See the Light" (both arranged by Gerald Wilson), and "Perdido" (arranged by Bill Mathieu). If there were occasions when that format resulted in mortal performances, the band is in upbeat form here, delighting in fresh charts that remake the songs via tantalizing introductions, offbeat rhythms and accents, and bold off-center harmonies. Bonus cuts include two lively versions of George Shearing's "Lullaby of Broadway," the Billy Strayhorn ballad "Dreamy Sort of Thing" (featuring the composer on piano and alto Johnny Hodges), and Wilson's bluesy "The Wailer." There's also a previously unissued 1961 version of "Harlem Air Shaft." --Lloyd Sachs