Ellington Reflections

"The Girl's Suite" is a 1961 tribute to singers Lena Horne, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughn and Mahalia Jackson. Continue reading →

The versatile trumpeter Barrie Lee Hall, Jr. was one of the last musicians hired by Duke Ellington in 1973. Continue reading →

Sidney Bechet briefly played with Ellington in the mid-1920s. They never recorded together, but Bechet played Ellington music throughout his career. Continue reading →

A 95th Birthday salute to guitarist, educator and Ellington advocate Kenny Burrell Continue reading →

The Ellington band’s State Department tour in the fall of 1963 provided the inspiration for the pieces he and Billy Strayhorn composed that was originally titled “Impressions of the Far East” and later retitled the far east suite. Continue reading →

Most Duke Ellington tribute concerts and recordings rely on just a handful of his compositions (Mood Indigo, Satin Doll, In A Sentimental Mood, etc.). The Duke Ellington Society refers to these songs as “the usual suspects.” While they are worthy of their status as standards, Ellington wrote thousands of compositions; there is plenty of his oeuvre that is ripe for exploration! Continue reading →

Five Ellington related books, all published by University Press of Mississippi. Continue reading →

A birthday salute to Duke Ellington featuring Brian Priestley, Brian Landrus and the Planet D Nonet performing rarely covered Ellington compositions. Continue reading →

“The Magazine Suite is an entirely new three-part composition. The band played it a few more times in 1945 and 1946 but never thereafter. It is remarkable how many Ellington compositions were allowed to sink without trace like this, suggesting that … Continue reading →

"The Latin American Suite," from 1968 showed that despite advancing age and the recent death of his writing partner Billy Strayhorn, there was no end in Ellington's creativity. Continue reading →