One of the musical highlights of my young life was accepting an invitation to a Philadelphia ball in the early ’70s where I was surprised by the presence of the still active Duke Ellington and his orchestra. At the time, I thought of Ellington as more of a legend than the musical genius he clearly was. I have no recollection of the music he played that evening; indeed, it was not until 1974, the year of Ellington’s death, that I began to gain some familiarity with his music, beginning, oddly enough, with a fascination for Steely Dan’s cover of his 1927 hit “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo”.

         1927 was the breakthrough year for the Duke, so named for his elegant, dignified bearing. Besides releasing his first hit record, Ellington, conducting from the piano, and his 11-piece Orchestra became the house band for Harlem’s famed Cotton Club that catered mostly to a rich all-white clientele. With weekly national radio exposure, he was soon a star, with such hits as “Mood Indigo” (1931) and “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” (1932); by the mid-’30s he had an international following.

         An accomplished pianist, Ellington is remembered also as a remarkable bandleader who seemed to bring out the best in other musicians. It is, however, as a composer that Duke has reached immortal status, taking his place among the greatest of any genre that America has produced. By the mid-’30s, the acknowledged master of the three-minute jazz piece, Ellington was a visionary who longed to work in long-form classical structures as well.  In 1939 he began collaborating with Billy Strayhorn, a classically trained composer and pianist who worked with the Duke as co-composer, arranger, and fill-in pianist and bandleader until Strayhorn died in 1967.  Today, Ellington is generally categorized as a black jazz composer and musician, but he bristled at such reductionist labeling, preferring to think of himself as one who wrote “American music” for all people.

         -Steve Williams (5/4/23) – Blog Post #7