The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse (subtitled A Suite in Eight Parts) is a studio album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded in 1971 and released on the Fantasy label in 1975. Like other world music-influenced suites composed in the last decade of his life, The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse was called by NPR music critic David Brent Johnson one of Ellington's, "late-period masterpieces."[1]
The album opens with a short spoken word introduction in which Ellington explains that the suite's title is inspired by Marshall McLuhan's vision of the onset of global cultural identity.[1]
Reception
Allmusic gave the album four stars out of five, describing it as "compelling, cosmopolitan, and organic ... All in all, a textured, cross-cultural treat for the ears."[2]
The 2001 Duke Ellington tribute album Red Hot + Indigo includes two compositions from The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse: "Didjeridoo" is performed by the jazz-influenced post-rock band Tortoise, and "Acht O'Clock Rock" is performed by jazz-fusion trio Medeski Martin & Wood, who also covered "Chinoiserie" on their 1995 album Friday Afternoon in the Universe, and have often performed these and other Ellington compositions live.
