Stumbled across this on Amazon:

Description
No one can deny the beauty of Duke Ellington's music of the 1930s and 40s, yet not to pay similar respect to his masterworks of the 1950s would be scandalous. It was during this time that Ellington embraced the long-playing album with a passion and sense of invention, and released one brilliant recording after another.

While some of the giants were gone from the band, the names that appeared with Ellington during the decade were great: Johnny Hodges, Paul Gonsalves, Clark Terry, Ray Nance and Harry Carney among others, as well as Duke's right hand man, composer and arranger Billy Strayhorn. Taking advantage of the instrumental riches at their disposal and the additional space offered by the LP, Ellington and Strayhorn began thinking in terms of ambitious expanded projects.

The initial Columbia album, Masterpieces By Ellington, found the maestro embracing the new technology, displaying grand arrangements of his popular anthems. Other visionary projects soon followed: Ellington Uptown, featuring the masterful composition, "Tone Parallel To Harlem"; Blue Rose with singer Rosemary Clooney; Such Sweet Thunder, a Shakespearian adaption; Black, Brown and Beige with majestic contributions from Mahalia Jackson; and Anatomy of a Murder, with music written for the hit film, among them. Each of these albums, as well as other jewels including Ellington Indigos, Blues In Orbit and A Drum Is A Woman, brim with marvelous melodies, sumptuous arrangements, glistening solos and exceptional ensemble work from all involved.

Consider just a handful of the contemporary gems to be found on these albums: "The Star-Crossed Lovers," "The Tattooed Bride," and "U.M.M.G." -- and there are dozens more to be found. The 1950s, it turns out, was just one more golden era for the Duke.

Box Set Includes:
1. 1951 -- Masterpieces By Ellington
2. 1952 -- Ellington Uptown
3. 1956 -- Blue Rose w/ Rosemary Clooney
4. 1956 -- The Drum Is A Woman
5. 1957 -- Such Sweet Thunder
6. 1957 -- Ellington Indigos
7. 1958 -- Black, Brown And Beige w/ Mahalia Jackson
8. 1958 -- Duke Ellington At The Bal Masque
9. 1958 -- Duke Ellington's Spacemen: The Cosmic Scene

Amazon USA
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008S80RZO/?tag=imwan-20

Amazon Canada
http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B008S80RZO/?tag=imwanca-20

Amazon UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008S80RZO/?tag=imwan-21

Wonder if this will include the 3 "Blue" rarities CBS LP sets, & the Perfume Suite CBS LP? If it does, it plugs the last major holes in DE's catalog on CD

Hate the price, but...................................

I've got most of this on official cd's either from the USA or France; the 2 I mentioned above on vinyl, but it could still be tempting. For any DE fan with a significant collection, there will be quite a bit of overlap with the 90's expanded remasters.

FYI: there's a lot of speculation about this on the i-net DE LYM list; but they don't know anything more than we do. There seems to be a belief that 9 cd's is far from complete.

Update at Amazon:

Box Set Includes:
1. 1951 -- Masterpieces By Ellington
2. 1952 -- Ellington Uptown
3. 1956 -- Blue Rose w/ Rosemary Clooney
4. 1956 -- The Drum Is A Woman
5. 1957 -- Such Sweet Thunder
6. 1957 -- Ellington Indigos
7. 1958 -- Black, Brown And Beige w/ Mahalia Jackson
8. 1958 -- Duke Ellington At The Bal Masque
9. 1958 -- Duke Ellington's Spacemen: The Cosmic Scene

THAT BITES We're only getting the previously released stuff & not even the 2 disc of A Drum that's been sitting prepared & mastered in the vaults for over 10 years............

Thanks for the info, though!

The Ellington list has so far posted that the only confirmed rarity (on cd) so far is a version of Cop Out on Ellington Indigos.