Billy Strayhorn
If you are familiar with the jazz composition, Take the A Train, then you know something about not only Duke Ellington, but also Billy Sweet Pea Strayhorn, its composer. Strayhorn joined Ellington's band in 1939, at the age of twenty-two. Ellington liked what he saw in Billy and took this shy, talented pianist under his wings. Neither one was sure what Strayhorn's function in the band would be, but their musical talents had attracted each other. By the end of the year Strayhorn had become essential to the Duke Ellington Band; arranging, composing, sitting-in at the piano. Billy made a rapid and almost complete assimilation of Ellington's style and technique. It was difficult to discern where one's style ended and the other's began. The results of the Ellington-Strayhorn collaboration brought much joy to the jazz world.
The history, of the family of William Thomas Strayhorn (his mother called him Bill) goes back over a hundred years in Hillsborough. One set of great grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. George Craig, lived behind the present Farmer's Exchange. A great grand-mother was the cook for Robert E. Lee. Billy, however, was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1915. His mother, Lillian Young Strayhorn, brought her children to Hillsborough often. Billy was attracted to the piano that his grandmother, Elizabeth Craig Strayhorn owned. He played it from the moment he was tall enough to reach the keys. Even in those early years, when he played, his family would gather to listen and sing.
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- Out Of The Shadows by Chris Mosey
- Piano Passion by Andrew Velez
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- The Peaceful Side by Joel Roberts
November 29, 2018
Library of Congress Acquires Archive of Jazz Great Billy Strayhorn
November 30, 2016
September 08, 2014
Outbeat: America's First Queer Jazz Festival Announces Two Powerful...
August 29, 2013
Nancy Valentine: A Special Presentation Of Billy Strayhorn Music at St....
March 25, 2011
Grant Stewart - Plays the Music of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn...
November 28, 2010
June 07, 2008
February 15, 2007
The Jazz Museum in Harlem Allstars Salute: Billy Strayhorn February...
February 04, 2007
Dianne Reeves Speaks on Judged Jazz Artist (Billy Strayhorn)
February 04, 2007
New Film Examines Billy Strayhorn's Rich Contributions to Jazz