Since this is now a jazz standard, I had to look up to verify this was originally by Duke Ellington. At least according to the wikipedia entry it is. Wikipedia says: The music was written and arranged by Ellington in August 1931 during intermissions at Chicago’s Lincoln Tavern and was first recorded by Ellington and his orchestra for Brunswick Records (Br 6265) on February 2, 1932.
I love the mix of strings and brass in this song. It makes it jazzy and yet still has a classical element to it due to the strings. I especially enjoy the use of what appears to be some sort of trombone mute to make the trombone sound almost like it’s singing.
This song makes me think of old Tom & Jerry type cartoons, probably because they used things like jazz standards when I was a kid in cartoons. Also helps with my positive association to this kind of music.