1 / 21

The Duke

The Duke. His gift lay in the inspiration he shared with his musicians He composed and arranged for particular instrumental voices He thought of musical textures in terms of colors He composed on the run the band often made suggestions while rehearsing composed 952 works including

Samuel
Download Presentation

The Duke

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Duke • His gift lay in the inspiration he shared with his musicians • He composed and arranged for particular instrumental voices • He thought of musical textures in terms of colors • He composed on the run • the band often made suggestions while rehearsing • composed 952 works including • 3 sacred concerts • 21 suites • 3 shows • 3 movie scores • a ballet

  2. The Duke’s Musicians • very loyal • career and their lives • Trombonist Joe Nanton (died at age 44) spent 20 years in the band • Saxophonist Johnny Hodges spent 40 years with the Duke • Billy Strayhorn 29 years • Saxophonist Harry Carney spent 40 years in the band (died 6 months after the Duke) • Ellington returned their loyalty and paid them well • in 1951 Industry average was $2500 per week • the Duke paid $4500 per week

  3. The Duke’s Early Years • b. Washington, D.C. April 19, 1899 • nicknamed “Duke” by a friend while still in grade school • began study of the piano after being hit accidentally with a baseball bat • discovered that playing the piano attracted the girls • turned down an art scholarship from NAACP in 1917

  4. The Duke’s Early Years • Formed a small band, acted as his own agent and owned his first Cadillac and house before he was 20 • 1923 went to New York - band hired by the Kentucky Club - stayed 4 1/2 years • “jungle” sound (introduced by trumpeter Bubber Miley in 1925) became one of the band’s theme sounds • 1926 - began to sell compositions to Irving Mills • Mills became Ellington’s manager - booked the band and arranged for recordings (and received 45% of the proceeds)

  5. The Duke’s Early Years • 1927 - the Cotton Club (Harlem’s top nightclub during the prohibition era) • Gradually increased the size of the orchestra from 9 to 15 • Johnny Hodges, alto sax, joined in 1928 • Bubber Miley (dying of tuberculosis)was replaced in 1929 by trumpeter Cootie Williams • Jaun Tizol (trombone) in 1929 • Lawrence Brown in 1932 • The band attracted all kinds of virtuoso talent • Recordings widely distributed in Europe • European tours in 1933, 1939, 1948

  6. Billy Strayhorn (1915-1967) • Association with Billy Strayhorn began in1939 • Strayhorn became known as “Swee Pea” • His first composition for Duke was “Lush Life” • wrote many tunes for the band including • “Something to Live For” • “After All” • “Take the ‘A’ Train” * • Played piano with the band • Impossible to distinguish his playing from Duke’s without looking at the liner notes

  7. The Duke • Many personnel turnovers in the 1940s and 1950s • Cootie Williams joined Benny Goodman in 1940 (but returned in 1962) • 1942 - Jimmie Blanton died • The band still flourished as Duke replaced the musicians with great players including • Paul Gonsalves and Clark Terry • The Duke wrote many memorable compositions • full-length stage show “Jump for Joy” • appeared in two films

  8. The Duke • Big band popularity began to slip by 1950 • July 7, 1956 • Newport Jazz Festival • Gonsalves played 28 choruses • “Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue”* • Piano - Duke Ellington • Alto sax - Russell Procope and Johnny Hodges • Trombone - Britt B. Woodman, Quentin L. Jackson, John Conrad Sanders • Bass - James Woode • Drums - Sam Woodyard • Trumpet - John W. Cook, Willis R. Nance, Clark Terry, William “Cat” Johnson • Tenor sax - Paul Gonsalves, James Hamilton • Baritone sax - Harry H. Karney

  9. the 1960s • Probing different musical areas • suites with African, Far Eastern and other themes such as • “Harlem” • “The River” • Played with traditional great players • Louis Armstrong, Count Basie • and with new wave musicians • Charles Mingus, John Coltrane • Became obsessed with music and allowed nothing to interfere with it

  10. Harlem • composed in 1950 aboard the Ile de France • Ellington said it was a commission by Arturo Toscanini as part of a Portrait of New York Suite • Ellington’s band recorded it in 1954 • 1955 Don Gillis performed it in Carnegie Hall with the Symphony of the Air

  11. from Music is my Mistress • “We would like now to take you on a tour of this place called Harlem. It has always had more churches than cabarets. It is Sunday morning. We are strolling from 110th Street up Seventh Avenue, heading north through the Spanish and West Indian neighborhood toward the 125th Street business area. Everybody is nicely dressed, and on their way to or from church. Everybody is in a friendly mood. Greetings are polite and pleasant, and on the opposite side of the street, standing under a street lamp, is a real hip chick. She, too, is in a friendly mood. You may hear a parade go by, or a funeral, or you may recognize the passage of those who are making Civil Rights demands. (Hereabouts, in our performance, Cootie Williams pronounces the word on his trumpet - Harlem !)” • Performed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Jaravi, conductor (Chandos 9226) or the Duke Ellington Orchestra (Jazz Heritage 513583L)

  12. The Last Days • Diagnosed with lung cancer • Toured Africa and Europe and conducted his Third Sacred Concert in Westminster Abbey in 1973 • Worked on his opera “Queenie Pie”in the hospital where he had a piano in his room • Queenie Pie Reggae • Died on May 24, 1974

  13. The Ellington Orchestra in a Sacred Concert • Awards • Duke and his band voted top jazz organization 76 times • 119 awards • 15 honorary degrees

  14. Illustrations of Ellington’s diverse composing and arranging skills • The Classic Ellington sound • “In a Mellotone” and “Ko-Ko” were recorded by the same personnel in 1940 • place responsibility on soloists • demonstrate composing and arranging skills • illustrate the responsibility Ellington placed on his musicians • controlled expression, especially from the brass section through the use of mutes • used by black bands to give them a bluesy quality

  15. The Classic Ellington Sound • “In a Mellotone” • features Cootie Williams and Johnny Hodges • Williams builds his solo around the increasingly active sax section so that it sounds like a spontaneous dialogue • the sax section plays from a written score • excitement builds as the soloists know what is going to happen in the score • note the “jungle” sound • recorded in 1940

  16. timeline for In a Mellotone • .00 Piano intro, bass fills • .12 Saxes play melody in unison, fills by bones in soli, rhythm section is bass and brushes on snare • .41 2nd chorus, same scoring • 1.08 Piano interlude • 1.10 Cootie Williams; straight and plunger, saxes fill in, balanced dialogue • 1.43 Growl in solo • 1.54 more growls in solo, saxes more active • 2.10 Tutti • 2.17 Johnny Hodges uses double-time phrasing; piano plays accmpt for the first time • 2.32 Brass play long notes in accmpt • 2.36 Solo break in double time • 2.45 Solo remains in double time • 2.54 Tutti band plays melody, solo fills by alto sax • 3.09 End

  17. The Classic Ellington Sound • “Ko-Ko” • features two trombonists Juan Tizol (first chorus) and Joe Nanton (straight mute and plunger) • band plays a rare complicated back-up to Ellington’s piano solo • Jimmy Blanton - walking bass solo • the fills are shouts for the entire band • Ellington was one of the first band leaders to use the bass as a solo instrument • Ellington’s melody and unusual arrangement were very bold in the 1940s

  18. timeline forKo-Ko • .00 Intro, bari sax plays low note, bones play short chords • .12 Muted bone plays melody, sax soli fills (call-response) • .30 T-bone solo (straight and plunger), bone section plays chords w/open and closed bell technique, piano plays chords as fills • .48 Another solo chorus for T-bone • 1.05 Saxes play in unison, T-bones punch, piano uses dissonant chords and angular scales • 1.23 Tutti chorus; all play complementary ideas, thick texture • 1.42 Tutti lead-in to bass solo • 1.44 Bass solo fill (walking) • 1.53 Tutti fill • 2.00 Shout chorus, saxes play melody, brass play long loud dissonant chords • 2.17 Fade, bari sax returns to low notes • 2.30 Ending • 2.35 End

  19. The Innovations of the Ellington Band • Many arrangements were a collective effort • Arrangements were built around the players • The band developed new organizational concepts for the soloists • use of the concerto format inspired by classical music • the Sacred Concerts retained the Ellington sound • “Jungle Style” • a trumpet and trombone technique using throat growls • Cuban or Latin Jazz (Caravan ) • The band is a monument in jazz history

  20. Recommended Ellington • Ellington at Newport (July 7, 1956) • Columbia CK 40587 • The Duke Ellington Orchestra (Mercer Ellington , conductor 1987) • GRP - 9548 • Ellington/Basie - First Time (July 6, 1961) • Columbia CK 40586 • Suite from “The River” (1971,recorded 1992) • Chandos CHAN 9154 • “Harlem” ( 1950,recorded 1992) • Chandos CHAN 9226 • “Duke Ellington” London - The Great Concerts • Jazz Heritage 513583L

  21. Duke Ellington video

More Related