Ieri diversi siti americani hanno celebrato il 111 anniversario della nascita di Duke Ellington (nato il 29 aprile 1899) con articoli sulla vita e soprattutto la musica del leggendario musicista.
Tra i tanti vorrei segnalarne due particolarmente interessanti, il primo del sito Smithsonian.com intitolato Happy Birthday to The Duke, del quale riprendiamo alcune parti più interessanti:
Duke Ellington wasn’t always The Duke.
The famous musician was born Edward Kennedy Ellington on April 29, 1899, in Washington, D.C. He would have been 111 today.
Growing up, his parents set high standards for manners and how the young Ellington should carry himself. His friends picked up on his well-groomed persona, and his casual air of elegance, that made him seem more like a nobleman than a child; more like a “Duke.”
It was a name that would foreshadow the elegance and ease with which Ellington commanded the musical world, writing or co-writing thousands of songs during his 50-year career as a bandleader. Many say the pianist, bandleader and composer elevated jazz to the same level of respect and prestige as classical music, giving the genre, which Ellington called “American music,” a permanent place in the country’s history and culture. (Jazz Appreciation Month is celebrated the same month as Ellington’s birthday.)
Today, more than 100,000 pages of unpublished music, along with thousands of other documents and artifacts, are preserved in the National Museum of American History’s Duke Ellington Collection, where musicians and composers from the world over come to try to see a glimpse of Duke’s genius.
Ellington began piano lessons at age 7, but never stuck with formal training. It wasn’t until he was 14, when he began to watch ragtime pianists perform, that he became serious about music. While working at the soda fountain of a local café, he wrote his first song. ‘Soda Fountain Rag.” He played it by ear every time he performed, since he hadn’t learned to read music.
Before he wrote hits like “Take the ‘A’ Train” or “Mood Indigo,” Ellington formed a band called “The Duke’s Serenaders,” who eventually played for embassies and high society balls around Washington. When his drummer left the band, he decided to try to make it big in New York City, the center of the jazz world.
Si può leggere il resto dell'articolo qui.
Un'altro interessante articolo è stato pubblicato sul sito di Voice of America, intitolato Legacy of Duke Ellington Remembered.
April is designated as "Jazz Appreciation Month" in the United States. It celebrates this unique American music form and honors the great American jazz musicians who revealed it to the world. One of the most influential figures in jazz is a native Washingtonian, Duke Ellington. He is also considered one of the twentieth century's best known African-American personalities, who influenced millions of people at home and around the world. April 29 marks his 111th birthday.
Many agree that Duke Ellington is Washington DC. This is where he was born, as Edward Kennedy Ellington, and where his career began. As a composer and band leader, he brought jazz to the world. During the Cold War in the 1960's and 70's, he was one of the numerous American jazz artists who traveled to Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America. In 1969, president Richard Nixon presented Duke Ellington with the Medal of Freedom. In his 50 year career, Ellington also received the Pulitzer Prize and 13 Grammy awards.
Today, Mercedes Ellington, Duke Ellington's granddaughter, keeps her grandfather's legacy alive as President of the Duke Ellington Center for the Arts. "The music of Duke Ellington is of such a structure that it crosses generations and puts everybody on an even scale. Duke Ellington used to be very charming and very gracious, and he appreciated his career to such an extent that, when he was invited to play in different countries, he would compose a suite dedicated to that country. He loved to go to places where he was not supposed to go. He never labeled his
music. It was not jazz, he said it was 'American music,'" she said.
Duke Ellington tore down racial barriers, playing to both African-American and white audiences, a rarity during those racially-divided times.
"It is just proving that the commonality between people is one of the things that I think Ellington wanted to accentuate. He was always on the path of acknowledging what was really happening in the world. The ideal of people being drawn together through music was his goal. He was constantly writing, every day, even when he was ill and dying in the hospital, he had a piano at the foot of his bed," she said.
Per leggere il resto dell'articolo visita questo link.
A questo link si può vedere il video del concerto che Ellington tenne a Parigi, nella sua tourneè per il 70° compleanno.
Tra i tanti vorrei segnalarne due particolarmente interessanti, il primo del sito Smithsonian.com intitolato Happy Birthday to The Duke, del quale riprendiamo alcune parti più interessanti:
Duke Ellington wasn’t always The Duke.
The famous musician was born Edward Kennedy Ellington on April 29, 1899, in Washington, D.C. He would have been 111 today.
Growing up, his parents set high standards for manners and how the young Ellington should carry himself. His friends picked up on his well-groomed persona, and his casual air of elegance, that made him seem more like a nobleman than a child; more like a “Duke.”
It was a name that would foreshadow the elegance and ease with which Ellington commanded the musical world, writing or co-writing thousands of songs during his 50-year career as a bandleader. Many say the pianist, bandleader and composer elevated jazz to the same level of respect and prestige as classical music, giving the genre, which Ellington called “American music,” a permanent place in the country’s history and culture. (Jazz Appreciation Month is celebrated the same month as Ellington’s birthday.)
Today, more than 100,000 pages of unpublished music, along with thousands of other documents and artifacts, are preserved in the National Museum of American History’s Duke Ellington Collection, where musicians and composers from the world over come to try to see a glimpse of Duke’s genius.
Ellington began piano lessons at age 7, but never stuck with formal training. It wasn’t until he was 14, when he began to watch ragtime pianists perform, that he became serious about music. While working at the soda fountain of a local café, he wrote his first song. ‘Soda Fountain Rag.” He played it by ear every time he performed, since he hadn’t learned to read music.
Before he wrote hits like “Take the ‘A’ Train” or “Mood Indigo,” Ellington formed a band called “The Duke’s Serenaders,” who eventually played for embassies and high society balls around Washington. When his drummer left the band, he decided to try to make it big in New York City, the center of the jazz world.
Si può leggere il resto dell'articolo qui.
Un'altro interessante articolo è stato pubblicato sul sito di Voice of America, intitolato Legacy of Duke Ellington Remembered.
April is designated as "Jazz Appreciation Month" in the United States. It celebrates this unique American music form and honors the great American jazz musicians who revealed it to the world. One of the most influential figures in jazz is a native Washingtonian, Duke Ellington. He is also considered one of the twentieth century's best known African-American personalities, who influenced millions of people at home and around the world. April 29 marks his 111th birthday.
Many agree that Duke Ellington is Washington DC. This is where he was born, as Edward Kennedy Ellington, and where his career began. As a composer and band leader, he brought jazz to the world. During the Cold War in the 1960's and 70's, he was one of the numerous American jazz artists who traveled to Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America. In 1969, president Richard Nixon presented Duke Ellington with the Medal of Freedom. In his 50 year career, Ellington also received the Pulitzer Prize and 13 Grammy awards.
Today, Mercedes Ellington, Duke Ellington's granddaughter, keeps her grandfather's legacy alive as President of the Duke Ellington Center for the Arts. "The music of Duke Ellington is of such a structure that it crosses generations and puts everybody on an even scale. Duke Ellington used to be very charming and very gracious, and he appreciated his career to such an extent that, when he was invited to play in different countries, he would compose a suite dedicated to that country. He loved to go to places where he was not supposed to go. He never labeled his
music. It was not jazz, he said it was 'American music,'" she said.
Duke Ellington tore down racial barriers, playing to both African-American and white audiences, a rarity during those racially-divided times.
"It is just proving that the commonality between people is one of the things that I think Ellington wanted to accentuate. He was always on the path of acknowledging what was really happening in the world. The ideal of people being drawn together through music was his goal. He was constantly writing, every day, even when he was ill and dying in the hospital, he had a piano at the foot of his bed," she said.
Per leggere il resto dell'articolo visita questo link.
A questo link si può vedere il video del concerto che Ellington tenne a Parigi, nella sua tourneè per il 70° compleanno.
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