By Donald True Van Deusen

Edward Kennedy Ellington, fittingly crowned and known worldwide as "Duke," was born 100 years ago on April 29 as countless articles and tributes paying deserved homage to him have noted. He was such a towering, awesome figure in 20th Century music, the tendency is always to think of him in splendid isolation as a major composer, band leader, piano player of jazz, pop, even classical and spiritual music. The one figure deserved of being "coupled" with Duke and sometimes forgotten or shamefully ignored, is Billy Strayhorn.

They were as much a perfect pair as George and Ira Gershwin, Rogers and Hart. They were so closely bonded that even Duke’s theme of many years, "Take the A-Train" and much of the Ellington song book often attributed to Duke, was actually written and/or arranged by Strayhorn. Band members who worked with Ellington for years, were quoted in Leonard Feather’s "The Encylopedia of Jazz" as saying they couldn’t say where one left off and the other began. They were a magic match of music.

Just a few of Strayhorn’s numbers so closely associated with Ellington include the hauntingly lovely, "Something to Live For," "Day Dream," "After All," "Passion Flower" the near-classic sounding "Chelsea Bridge" and swinging "Johnny Come Lately." Ellington’s "C-Jam Blues," that stomping jump tune and "Satin Doll" were both significantly worked on by Strayhorn. One song became the title of a lovely biography in 1996 of Strayhorn written by David Hajdu was the poetic, passionate, prayer-like, "Lush Life"-- "I used to visit all the very gay places, Those come what may places, Where one relaxes on the axis, Of the wheel of Life, To get the feel of life…" Two torch-burning bluesy ballads, featured in Rosemary Clooney’s best album, "Blue Rose," were Ellington-Strayhorn songs, "Greivin’" and "I’m Checking Out—Goombye."

Ellington was handsome, elegant as his nick name given to him early childhood, an extrovert, seductive schmoozer of audiences-"I love you madly," and a great womanizer. Strayhorn was basically shy, warm, sensitive and although he never made a point of it, a homosexual. Lena Horne was quoted as saying that he was the only man she ever really loved and that if he had been interested in women, she would have married him. Everyone who met him apparently loved him.

Duke Ellington’s bands featured work by some of the greatest jazz artists of all time who worked with him for decades-- Freddie Guy, guitar; Sonny Greer, drums; Johnny Hodges, alto and soprano sax; Cootie Williams, trumpet; Ben Webster, tenor sax, Harry Carney, baritone sax and Jimmy Blanton on bass and such vocalists as Ivie Anderson, Herb Jeffries and Al Hibbler. I met Mercer Ellington, Duke’s son, in Philadelphia, who wrote another song often attributed to Duke, "Things Aint What They Used to Be." He once said Duke’s real instrument was his band.

Classical and church music Duke composed, featured in august settings such as Carnegie Hall and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, are sometimes cited as examples of truly great American classical numbers. If you really want to hear Ellington numbers that rival the classics listen to his extended jazz pieces such as "Creole Rhapsody," "East St. Louis Toodle-oo" and "Black and Tan Fantasy" going back to his 1920’s Cotton Club days. No pop tune was better known than Duke’s "Don’t Get Around Much Anymore," "Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me," "Solitude" "I’m Beginning to See the Light" or "Sophisticated Lady."

There was a period toward the early 1950s when Ellington seemed to be all played out and written off by fans and jazz critics. Then on July 7, 1956 at a concert in Newport, Rhode Island, Ellington came back. His band was loose and swinging. The topper was when tenor sax star Paul Gonsalves, was told by Duke, "go ahead" on a solo in "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue," two Elllington chestnuts. For 27 consecutive choruses, Gonsalves carved his name in jazz history as the crowd went wild, an attractive unidentified blonde in a black dress got up and danced ecstatically and Jo Jones, Count Basie’s great drummer beat out the time with a rolled up newspaper. A majestic three part jazz concert piece, "Newport Jazz Festival" was also featured that night. It was written by Ellington and Strayhorn. Ellington music has been playing now for almost 100 years as the century ends. It will be playing for another 100 in the 21st century. That music, often as not, will have been written by Duke AND Billy, who as among the greatest creative couples in American music, truly gave us, "something to live for."