And thankfully Ellington never did. He composed/arranged/recorded some absolute masterpieces in his late period.
One of my favorite recordings is an album titled “Masterpieces by Ellington,” which I discovered in 1960 at a radio station. I aired selections from it whenever I could.
The length of the arrangements was such that the LP contained only four selections.
In addition to some classics was a major new work, “The Tattooed Bride.” The disc having been released in 1950, I think this classifies as a late-period composition.
It was from this album that I became an Ellington fan. I got to shake his hand a year or so later after a concert and complemented him particularly on his work on this album.
He said, of course, “Love you Madly!”
The CD of this album is hard to find, but I finally did locate one about fifteen years ago.