A Portrait of Duke Ellington: Reminiscing in Tempo - Softcover

Nicholson, Stuart

4.18

28 ratings by Goodreads

9780330367325: A Portrait of Duke Ellington: Reminiscing in Tempo

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0330367323 ISBN 13: 9780330367325

Publisher: Pan Books, 2000

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An innovative biography of the master of jazzOne of the most romantic, flamboyant and charismatic figures in the colourful world of jazz, Duke Ellington rose in five years from signwriter, pianist and pool-room hustler to be the star of Harlem's Cottom Club, and soon a giant of twentieth-century music. Rare as a bandleader-pianist who composed all his own material, he was acclaimed by Stravinsky as 'one of the greatest lving composers', crossing almost every known musical divide. His work spanned from 'Mood Indigo' to major religious works, and faultless improvisation to arrangements using unusual combinations of instruments for a new range of tonal colours.Nicknamed 'Duke' for his snappy dressing and regal bearing, a sophisticate, bon viveur, humorist, gourmet and lover of beautiful women, Ellington was nontheless an intensely private man. This biography will draw on many previously unpublished sources, including the papers of his sister and son, approaching the man through the eyes of those who knew him, exploring such mysteries as his early marriage, and offering a first-hand acount of a major black artist's struggle in a world of white entertainment.

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From the Publisher:

Recent national newspaper reviews:
THE INDEPENDENT 22nd April 2000: 'This is not only a portrait of the towering genius of 20th-century music, but also of the band of 15 or so top-flight musicians maintained by Ellington - he referred to them as his "expensive gentlemen" - from the early Twenties until his death in 1974. Nicholson's decision to use the fashionable "collage" style of biography, pioneered by George Plimpton in his life of Truman Capote, is triumphantly vindicated. Mainly using the voices of sidesmen - in particular, Ellington's articulate son Mercer - he traces Duke's meteoric rise from Harlem juke-joints, via his residency at the exclusive but racketeer-run Cotton Club, to his adoption by European high society. Prince George, the Queen's father, was a particularly ardent fan in the early Thirties.

'By 1955, however, the Ellington band had plunged to a nadir, playing "second on the bill to the Dancing Waters, a water fountain display". Though given a lowly slot at the Newport Jazz Festival, the following year, a legendary performance of 27 straight choruses by tenor-player Paul Gonsalves took them to the top of the charts once more.

'Nicholson maintains a lively tempo, switching between musical and other matters. As passionate about sex as music, Duke described the act in similar terms: "An aria of the sex symphony which... [works] itself to a screaming, bursting climax of indescribable beauty and rapture". Each quote throws a new, sometimes unexpected sidelight on Ellington's complex personality: his galloping hypochondria, his addiction to life on the move, his withering dismissal of racism as "the skin disease", his blase attitude to drink and drug-taking among musicians. Nicholson has produced a life that is worthy companion to Ellington's incomparable music.'

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 23rd April 2000:

'One of the most flamboyant and charismatic figures in the jazz world, the black American pianist, composer and band leader Edward Kennedy Ellington was nicknamed "Duke" for his snappy dressing, his sophisticated music and aristocratic bearing. Bursting with anecdotal exuberance, this innovative biography is comprised of intimate first-hand reminiscences by those who knew him best - his wife, sister, son, friends and fellow band members - as well as the numerous quotes from the man himself. All aspects of Ellington are explored, from his creative processes to his voracious appetite for sex, his hypochondria and his obsession with religion.'

Synopsis:

Rare as a bandleader-pianist who composed all his own material, Duke Ellington was one of the most romantic, flamboyant and charismatic figures in the colourful world of jazz. Nevertheless he was an intensely private man. This biography approaches him through the eyes of those who knew him.

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