Duke Ellington: Highlights of his Late Style
Observers of great musicians often point to a “late style” — a final burst of creativity as an artist nears the end of life. And so here, David Brent Johnson’s NPR feature offers five examples highlighting the late period of Duke Ellington, making the case that proximity to death — in this case, the loss of Billy Strayhorn — fueled Ellington’s last urgent outpouring of productivity. Infused, I’d say, with the distinctive genius that marked Ellington’s work throughout his remarkable career.
-Nick Moy
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EMI Wins Dispute Over Duke Ellington Net Revenue
Yet another story about the byzantine web of compensation for jazz musicians: this one about what Duke Ellington’s family can actually collect for many of the hit songs Ellington wrote.
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Duke Ellington’s Film Debut
Ken Steiner at the Library of Congress recently unearthed what turns out to be the earliest film footage we have of Duke Ellington. It’s a silent film and you can’t blink or you’ll miss Duke (whom you can barely see anyway), but the process of research it took to locate this footage is a worthwhile read from the LOC blog.
-Scott Wenzel
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Read MoreRandall’s Island Carnival Of Swing Concert - 1938
On May 29, 1938, a benefit concert (for Musician’s Local 802’s Hospital Fund) was held at Randall’s Island, NY, to a crowd of 23,000 swing fans. WNEW broadcast part of the event, however, no audio either filmed or disc has surfaced. In this clip we see what is was like to be a swing fan during those years along with images of the Count Basie band (with Lester Young) and a dubbed airshot of “I Got Rhythm” from the Southland Ballroom in Boston (1939).
In a preview of what would happen 18 years later at Newport, the highlight of the show was Duke Ellington’s “Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue”. During the selection, 3,000 grandstand spectators rushed onto the field in an effort to get near the bandstand. This delayed the concert about ten minutes while emergency police restored order.
Other artists who performed that day were Chick Webb, Vincent Lopez, Artie Shaw, Hal Kemp, Sammy Kaye, Bunny Berigan, Kay Kayser, Russ Morgan, Will Hudson, Milt Herth, Stuff Smith, Larry Clinton, Will Osborne and the Andrews Sisters. Also visible on the “sidelines” diggin’ the Basie band is Stuff Smith and Teddy Bunn.
-Scott Wenzel
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Happy Birthday, Duke Ellington
Duke would have been 114 today. One way to celebrate: listen to Ellington’s music all day today — straight through midnight — on WKCR Radio’s birthday broadcast, streaming on wkcr.org.
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Documentary: Duke Ellington The Band Leader
In this “Jazz Profile” program over NPR stations, host Nancy Wilson devotes two shows on Duke Ellington as composer. His brilliance extending from popular standards to suites is well known and this feature is a worthy document of his enormous talent.
-Scott Wenzel
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Read MoreDuke Ellington At Newport
The celebrated performance of “Diminuendo And Crescendo In Blue with those 27 chorus’ by Paul Gonsalves at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival is the subject of this brief clip from Ken Burns “Jazz”. The color movie clips you see come from the 1958 Newport Festival and were part of “Jazz On A Summer’s Day”. A triumph of Ellington and nice to see NJF founder George Wein interviewed for this segment.
-Scott Wenzel
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Clark Terry: Trumpet Favorite of the Greats
This JazzWax feature on the wonderful trumpeter Clark Terry focuses on Terry’s early years, but even then, good things were already happening fast. His roots in St. Louis brought him into close contact with the young Miles Davis, who readily counted Terry was an influence; and Terry touches on his post-war gigs with Count Basie and Duke Ellington.
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Long-Form Jazz: Out of the Harlem Renaissance
The long-form jazz composition — spanning the jazz suite and symphonic works - is said to have blossomed during the Harlem Renaissance, as early as James P. Johnson. Duke Ellington grappled with the form for a good part of his career. Composers in the jazz realm often coupled long-form compositions with grand themes in black history. This NPR survey samples five examples of long-form jazz composition, including excerpts from Ellington’s Black Brown and Beige, Oliver Nelson and a haunting piece by Wadada Leo Smith, honoring Rosa Parks.
-Nick Moy
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Read MoreDuke Ellington: Our Band Will Never Sound The Same
Duke Ellington and his Orchestra were playing at Philharmonic Hall in NY, April 16, 1971 and I had tickets. Ray Nance, Paul Gonsalves, Harry Carney were there and I seem to recall Cootie Williams was there although discographies claim he was not. But one whom I had idolized was no longer a part of the Ellington ensemble. Almost a year had gone since the passing of Johnny Hodges. The Maestro’s remark that “because of this great loss, our band will never sound the same” was indeed a correct statement. JazzVideoGuy has uploaded this clip onto YouTube which should date to circa 1964.
-Scott Wenzel
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