Jazz Articles about Duke Ellington

About Duke Ellington

Building a Jazz Library

This article was first published in 2005.The summer seeks scintillating sounds from the jazz sectors. Indeed, it is at this minuscule place that massive talents come together. Who could possibly hypothesize that such a small stretch of land could be the breeding ground for new ideas, the ideal place for musical re-unions, or the pre-destined landmark for one of the greatest comebacks in jazz history. Whether you have actively been in the crowd, heard the crowd on record, ...

Book Excerpts

Jive-Colored Glasses

by John Goodman
July 16, 2015

The following is an excerpt from “Chapter 4: Chicago" of Jive-Colored Glasses by John F Goodman (jg publications, 2015). Growing up in and around Chicago in the 1950s brought me to all kinds and flavors of jazz. Between the house parties, clubs and concerts, there was a menu to please everyone. The Rush Street and downtown clubs like the London House were flourishing, and so of course was the Blue Note, where the Ellington and Basie bands held ...

What is Jazz?

Jazz and Politics

by Douglas Groothuis
July 2, 2015

My title is ambiguous since relating jazz to politics with only a conjunction ("and") might indicate several things. It could mean the politics of jazz--how jazz forms a culture, negotiates power relations, grants status to performers, and more. Or, it could mean the jazz of politics--how politicians learn the standards of political theory, improvise, and develop chops. Fascinating as they two topics sound, I will not write directly on either. However, mulling over the two conceivable connections between ...

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Building a Jazz Library

Tag Team Jazz, Part 1-2

by Nathan Holaway
May 16, 2015

Part 1 | Part 2 Jazz has always celebrated rugged individuality, praising those who appreciate others but stay on their own path. So what happens when two (or more) intelligent and original musicians come together? Most of the time, pure magic. Stellar tag teams have made some of the finest records in jazz history. Louis Armstrong / Duke Ellington: The Great Summit: Master Takes (Blue Note, 2001) An absolute “must have" for any ...

Book Review

The Best Gig in Town: Jazz Artist at the White House 1969-1974

by C. Michael Bailey
January 18, 2015

The Best Gig in Town: Jazz Artist at the White House 1969 -1974 Edward Allan Faine 229 Pages ISBN: #9780985795245 IM Press 2014 There is something puzzling and curious about a book documenting jazz performances at the White House specifically during the Nixon Administration. A thoroughly divisive historical figure, President Richard Nixon, has on only rare occasions since his resignation, been treated in a positive, or even neutral, light. Author Edward Allan Faine ...

In the Studio

Jazz on the Screen: A Jazz and Blues Filmography

by AAJ Staff
August 25, 2014

This article appears courtesy of David Meeker and the Library of Congress. Learn more about Jazz on Screen. Overview of Jazz on the Screen By David Meeker The cultural, sociological and technical histories of jazz and motion pictures have run in parallel, sometimes intersecting, lines ever since both forms emerged at the end of the nineteenth century. Neither found it easy to be accepted as a legitimate form of personal or artistic expression. The ...

Album Review

Duke Ellington: Duke Ellington In Grona Lund

Read "Duke Ellington In Grona Lund" reviewed by Chris Mosey

by Chris Mosey
June 9, 2014

Midsummer is a quite magical time to be in Sweden. The long, dark winter is over and now, as the sun stays resolutely above the horizon, the Lutheran natives shed their somber demeanor, dress in traditional costumes, dance around maypoles decorated with garlands of flowers, drink far too much aquavit and have such a good time they forget all about it the morning after. In 1963 Swedish jazz fans had added reason for celebration: for four weeks, ...