[Duke Ellington: Mainly Black; EMI American Classics EMI 411192 (2010) (73:22)]
Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington (1899-1974) was an African American composer, pianist and band leader. He is profiled at AfriClassical.com. Duke Ellington was born into a middle-class family in Washington, D.C. on April 29, 1899. Although best known for composing, leading and performing about 2,000 "big band" jazz pieces, Ellington also composed orchestral, chamber and solo piano works in the classical genre. His classical music has gradually gained new listeners in recent years due to recordings on CD.
The CD Duke Ellington: Mainly Black is part of the EMI American Classics series and was released on Nov 22, 2010. The full title is: Duke Ellington: Mainly Black: Black, Brown and Beige / Harlem / Sophisticated Lady / Isfahan / Take the 'A' Train, according to Amazon.com. HBDirect.com has a list price of $13.98. Amazon.com Merchants sell the disc new from $7.62. Billy Strayhorn composed Take the 'A' Train. Duke Ellington wrote Black, Brown and Beige, Harlem, Sophisticated Lady and Isfahan. The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra is conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. The total time of the recording is 73:22.
Black, Brown and Beige is orchestrated by Maurice Peress, who has conducted the American Composers Orchestra in Four Symphonic Works by Duke Ellington, released as Nimbus NI 2511 (2008). Peress writes: “The narrative Black, Brown and Beige is Ellington's philosophical metaphor for black survival in a white world.” “An enigmatic and complicated work, made all the more difficult to fathom by the disarmingly comfortable tonal palette and rhythmic flow of a jazz band, Black, Brown and Beige is a signature piece for Ellington, but rarely performed. It was, after all, a first attempt at a long, sustained work – originally 57 minutes in length – by a master of the short form.” “In 1963 he allowed it to be published in score form, to my knowledge the only extended work of his so honoured during his lifetime. It was shortly after that I met Duke and proposed the idea of a version for symphony orchestra.”
1 comment:
I recently won a CD from our local NPR station of Ellington's music. It is excellent listening.
I hope that we never lose sight of the fact that Ellington was one of America's major composers and influences on music.
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