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The Legacy of Billy Strayhorn: the Unknown Strayhorn
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Strayhorn wrote at least one piece a week during the thirty years he worked with Duke Ellington. That was more than the Ellington Orchestra could handle, especially since Duke himself composed constantly. Choices had to be made and thus many pieces fell by the wayside. Among those ill-fated scores were some of the finest works Strayhorn ever composed.
Strayhorn also loved the theater and dance. He wrote his first musical while just out of high school. In 1950 he accepted an invitation to join a society of black tap dancers called the Copasetics and wrote the music for several of their musical reviews.
Join me for an hour of long lost Billy Strayhorn compositions, featuring the Dutch Jazz Orchestra, Johnny Hodges, Stan Getz, Bobo Stenson.
About Billy Strayhorn
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