“All the musicians should get together one certain day and get down on their knees and thank Duke.” – Miles Davis
Duke Ellington (1899-1974) established his first orchestra in 1924 and continued to lead it in its various manifestations without a break until his death at 75 in 1974. The anniversary has rightly prompted serious reflections in the jazz media with Downbeat (US), Jazzwise (UK) and Jazz Magazine (France) all devoting special issues to Duke.
The anniversary is a timely reminder of Ellington’s monumental achievements and standing within the pantheon of 20th century music encompassing fifteen hundred compositions, a mountain of recordings and a relentless schedule of live performances. Although Ellington’s name will immediately be associated with any reference to jazz his continuing influence on contemporary jazz and the wider musical culture merits a higher profile and greater consideration.
Why have I taken so long to devote a chapter to him?!
Duke Ellington
Mike Westbrook, the legendary English composer, and bandleader in his fascinating piece in the current edition of Jazzwise recalls hearing the Ellington band at the Rainbow in London during his last visit to London a few months before his death. Still capable of both providing his audience with comforting reminders of his greatest hits (how many times must he/they have played “Take The A Train?) while challenging them with newer and unexpected compositions, La Plus Belle Africaine being the number that Westbrook recalls fifty years after the event.
In many ways Mike Westbrook’s career echoes that of Ellington, his greatest musical influence- a bandleader and composer for over sixty years. See my earlier blog devoted to Mike here.
Mike Westbrook’s brilliant summation of Ellington’s epic life and achievements runs as follows,
“No one was more respectful of the past than Duke or more faithful to his roots, yet his music was moving ahead to the very end. He took risks and was not afraid of controversy. He railed against categorisation in music. He took the African American tradition with its energy and expressive freedom, rooted in the community, melding it with the structures and harmonies of contemporary European music. And he bridged the gulf between high art and popular entertainment.
“Ellington juggled with the dual roles of popular entertainer and serious composer. He jived with A & B cultures and invited us to enjoy it all”.
One of my great regrets was not having heard the Ellington orchestra in live performance. What was I doing that night at London’s Rainbow theatre in 1974 that could have been more important?!
Here’s a brief flavour of Duke (and Ella) on the road in 1966;
Ellington’s long musical life and career are inextricably linked to the orchestra that he led for 50 years. Duke often described the orchestra as his instrument of choice. He had an intimate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of his players, producing compositions directly linked to their individual sounds, styles, and talents.
While there was some inevitable churn in band personnel over the orchestra’s lifetime many of the orchestra’s most distinctive voices stayed with Duke for decades. Harry Carney on baritone sax had the longest service, followed by Johnny Hodges possessor of one of the most distinctive alto sax sounds in jazz history. Cootie Williams, Lawrence Brown and Ray Nance put in decades of service. Paul Gonsalves, whose unforgettable multi chorus solo at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1955 propelled Ellington back into public attention after some lean years in the early 50’s spent his last 30 years with Duke.
Duke welcomed and nourished these diverse talents. He wrote specifically for each of them and encouraged their self-expression, routinely name checking each soloist in live performances. He also paid well and was a legendarily tolerant boss.
The orchestra’s longevity was unparalleled both in terms of its 50 year arc and the sheer number of gigs of every type which it played. During his famous residency at the Cotton Club in Harlem in the late 20’s and early 30’s the band would routinely play up to five shows a night 7 days a week. In the 1930’s at the height of the swing era much of the orchestra’s touring schedule in the U.S. beyond their East Coast home base was conducted in a specially designed train- not least to make travel through and accommodation within segregation-era America more tolerable. Even in its last decade Duke and the band performed intensively criss-crossing the States and conducting punishing international tours. And Duke was always ever-present on the bandstand selecting the playlist, updating the arrangements, playing, conducting, and introducing the selections.
And while the band slept, smoked, played cards argued and talked Duke would sit up front with Harry Carney for company writing new material and re-scoring and refreshing his back catalogue. This lifestyle continued right up to his death. Duke described his approach to his music very succinctly,
“Music is what I hear and something that I more or less live by. It’s not an occupation or profession, it’s a compulsion”.
I can think of no other 20th century musician whose compositional output covered such a diverse and astonishing range of forms and genres. From pop songs to dance music through to long form pieces including suites, film scores, concertos and, in his final years sacred music. And it was through his music and his growing visibility as a band leader, showman and composer that Duke became a cultural icon. His music was deeply reflective of contemporary Black experience and Black aspirations in the U.S., and it was in his music that Duke’s radicalism is rooted ,less so in his public statements.
Finally, Duke was a brilliant and distinctive pianist. This is less remarked on that it should be. Listen to his few trio albums, particularly the challenging Money Jungle album recorded with two bebop masters, Max Roach and Charles Mingus and you may be surprised to hear how far out Duke was willing and able to take his piano playing. Calling Mingus for a trio recording was typical of Duke’s forgiving nature- he had to sack the young Mingus for allegedly pulling a knife on trombonist Juan Tizol in mid performance. Tizol’s longevity with the band probably swung Duke’s vote in his favour.
I could easily devote a year’s worth of chapters to Duke, his life, social and cultural significance, his deep and somewhat mysterious relationship with co-composer and arranger Billy Strayhorn. Watch this space for some further reflections on the unique soundscape of Duke Ellington.
The Playlist
Configuring an Ellingtonian playlist is uniquely challenging. My attached playlist is drawn from two sources- albums recommended by Mike Westbrook in his article and the selections of my friends in our regular London jazz listening group. Our most recent meeting, fortunately, focused on Duke Ellington
I leave the final words to Duke himself,
“Jazz is the only unhampered, unhindered expression of complete freedom yet produced in this country”.
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