![]() ![]() My first encounter with the Duke’s music came after he had been dead for four years. He maintained a big band long past the time when his fellow big band leaders had packed it in, at least partly so that he could have access to the band for the purpose of trying out new compositions. ![]() I’ll bet that the mere mention of some of his tunes will have you humming them: Mood Indigo, It Don’t Mean a Thing (if it ain’t got that swing), Take the ‘A’ Train, C Jam Blues, and Rockin’ in Rhythm are just a few examples. ![]() But he was peerless when it came to composing (he is reputed to have composed 1000+ songs, many of which have become standards) and was probably an unmatched band leader. He wasn’t one of the great jazz pianists - he couldn’t compete with Errol Garner or Teddy Wilson or Oscar Peterson. Edward Kennedy (“Duke”) Ellington was a ‘jazz’ pianist, although he wasn’t keen on such categories he preferred ‘the music of today’ rather than ‘jazz’. ![]()
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