A Tone Parallel to Duke Ellington
A Tone Parallel to Duke Ellington
The Man in the Music
In this insightful new volume, Jack Chambers explores Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington’s music thematically, collating motifs, memes, and predilections that caught Ellington’s attention and inspired his restless muse. In presenting Ellington’s work in this manner, Chambers situates the music in the context in which it was created—historical, political, musical, biographic, and personal. Chambers offers a novel kind of access to the man and the music.
Ellington’s music presents a daunting task for listeners because of its sheer volume. The numbers defy credulity. Ellington wrote more than two thousand compositions in numerous genres, including pop songs, big band swing, revues, hymns, tone poems, soundtracks, suites, ballets, concertos, and symphonies. Where to start? The themes in this book offer natural entry points. They provide the context in which the music came into being, with enough biography to satisfy music lovers, even those who come to the book knowing very little about Ellington’s life. Each chapter features its own playlist as a guide to the music discussed, and, in some cases, fuller listings in case readers might want to pursue a topic further. In the early chapters, Chambers covers topics that occupied Ellington through much of his career, and in later chapters he covers more specific themes, some of them from Ellington’s last decades, which are less well studied. The music, Ellington said, is his “continuing autobiography,” and it reveals the man behind it.
A Tone Parallel to Duke Ellington is original and stimulating, a significant contribution to the literature on the music of Duke Ellington. Written in an elegant and engaging style, the book offers new insight to Ellington scholars but at the same time offers an accessible point of entry to readers new to Ellington’s work, life, and times. Demonstrating exemplary knowledge and expertise, Jack Chambers’ thematic approach sheds new light on Ellington’s achievements, making astute observations on their limits and offering much food for thought on Ellington’s legacy and its future. This is a book for scholars, students, Ellington’s legion of admirers, and anyone interested in one of the most culturally significant figures of the twentieth century.
As we mark the 125th anniversary of Duke Ellington’s birth, and the 50th year since his passing, Jack Chambers’ book will be a focal point for the attention generated about Ellington. It is a valuable entry point for new Ellington fans.
Jack Chambers is professor at the University of Toronto and a prizewinning author and teacher on music and language. He is a longtime contributor to the Globe and Mail (Toronto), Coda magazine, and other jazz journals, and a participant in annual conferences. His jazz writings include the prizewinning biography Milestones: The Music and Times of Miles Davis, Bouncin’ with Bartok:The Incomplete Works of Richard Twardzik, and numerous articles and reviews.
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Abbreviations
Chapter 1. Echoes of Harlem
Chapter 2. Forty-Eight Years with the Duke on Trains
Appendix: The Duke on Trains—The Complete Discography
Interlude 1—First Impressions of Duke Ellington: Worlds and Years Apart
Chapter 3. The Piano Player
Appendix: Piano Recitals Annotated
Chapter 4. Wordless Articulation
Chapter 5. Ellington’s Music with Words
Interlude 2—Musicians’ Impressions of Duke Ellington: Years and Genres Apart
Chapter 6. The Lotus Eaters
Chapter 7. Accidental Suites: Duke Ellington’s Hollywood Scores
Chapter 8. Ellington in the Global Village
Interlude 3—Poets’ Impressions of Duke Ellington: Ages and Styles Apart
Chapter 9. Diamonds in a Glittering Heap
Chapter 10. A Final Masterpiece, Reluctantly
Chapter 11. The Missing Last Act of an American Composer
Works Cited
Index of People and Places
Index of Compositions and Songs
