1899–1974 American composer Although his heartland was the chiaroscuro world of jazz, Ellington transcended its boundaries, frequently lauded as ‘America’s greatest living composer’. A fine pianist, his keyboard skills were overshadowed by his writing abilities – evident in a multitude of jazz standards – and by his arranging. With the Ellington Orchestra he created dynamic unison passages using ...
Universally acknowledged as one of the twentieth century’s emblematic composers, Edward Kennedy ‘Duke’ Ellington used his long-standing touring orchestra as a tool to create wholly unique tonal colours and a distinctive harmonic language in jazz. His career was characterized by the close and long-lasting relationships that he struck up with particular musicians and other figures from the music business, ...
The clarinettist and bandleader Benny Goodman did much to bring swing bands to a mass audience in the mid-to-late 1930s, together with bandleaders such as Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington and Count Basie. The Swing Era lasted from around 1928 to 1945. The word ‘swing’ referred to the light, infectious type of rhythmic drive that is typical of the ...
The flugelhorn developed from the bugle, a signalling horn used in the Middle Ages and made out of bull or ox horn. This developed into a large, semicircular hunting horn made of brass or silver that was used by the military during the Seven Years’ War (1756–63). History Wrapping the horn around itself once, so the bell pointed ...
The saxophone occupies an unusual position in that it is a bespoke instrument that has barely changed since its creation. Although it does not occupy the position in the orchestra its creator had envisaged, Adolphe Sax’s invention has played a central part in music ever since it burst on to the scene in the 1840s. Sax’s father, Charles, ...
trumpeter Wynton Marsalis serves as artistic director). Since its formation in 1988, the LCJO has taken on the task of presenting the works of jazz masters such as Duke Ellington, Sidney Bechet, Jelly Roll Morton, Thelonious Monk and others to largely subscription audiences at the prestigious Alice Tully Hall in the Lincoln Center complex. Others maintain that ...
, b. 1934) Born Adolphe Johannes ‘Dollar’ Brand in Capetown, South Africa, Abdullah Ibrahim successfully fused African rhythms and lilting melodic lines with the piano styles of Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. In 1960, with trumpeter Hugh Masekela and others as the Jazz Epistles, he released the first contemporary South African jazz album. The racial climate in ...
led by Benny Moten and Andy Kirk) before moving to New York in 1934. He recorded with Billie Holiday and worked with a succession of notable bandleaders before joining Duke Ellington in 1940. He was a key member of Ellington’s legendary band of the time, often referred to as ‘the Blanton-Webster Band’ from the influence exerted by the saxophonist and ...
Swing’s The Thing Throughout 1934–35 Benny Goodman became the first white bandleader to bring the swinging spirit of the great black orchestras – Chick Webb, Benny Carter, Duke Ellington and Fletcher Henderson – to a mass audience. He used the Henderson model, bought many of Henderson’s arrangements and sharpened the intonation and attack without suffocating any of the ...
summer of 1941, Turner went to Los Angeles to appear in Duke Ellington’s musical Jump For Joy. Turner was added to the cast after the show had opened but Ellington had written a blues for Turner to perform in the show, ‘Rocks In My Bed’. It became Turner’s signature song following the show’s close in late September, and ...
and versatile jazz drummers of the 1930s and 1940s. He played in a variety of ensembles under such luminaries as Benny Carter, Fletcher Henderson, Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington, before going on to join Louis Armstrong’s All-Stars. Catlett’s remarkable adaptability enabled him to play in a wide range of styles and he also successfully bridged the gap into ...
(Bandleader, vocals, entertainer, 1907–94) Cabell Calloway’s orchestra was one of the most successful black bands of the 1930s and by the end of the decade it was home to some of the finest jazz soloists. He arrived in Chicago in the late 1920s and found his niche as a singer, then went to New York, where ...
to jettison standard chord changes, fixed rhythms and expected ensemble roles in the interest of musical democracy. Taylor developed his unorthodox style while studying at New England Conservatory. Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and Lennie Tristano were among his major influences. Taylor debuted in 1956 with Jazz Advance!. He treats the piano as a percussion instrument, hammering out ...
of his creative aspirations. Early work with Lionel Hampton and Red Norvo brought him in 1951 from California to New York, where he worked with Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker and others. Mingus formed Debut Records with Max Roach and issued some of his early Jazz Workshop recordings on the label (along with the famous concert from ...
in 1941 and featured many notable musicians in his line-ups. His style was based on an energized Basie-like riff formula, but he was also an undisguised admirer of Duke Ellington, and attempted to graft elements of the Ellington band’s sophisticated harmonies into his own band arrangements. He is best remembered for Billy May’s arrangement of the much-covered ‘Cherokee’ in ...
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David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.