Duke Ellington biography?
May 12, 2010 8:15 AM   Subscribe

Can anyone recommend a good Duke Ellington biography and/or the standard biography? I'm particularly interested in one that takes his later work seriously.
posted by OmieWise to Media & Arts (6 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Not I, but I would suggest as an adjunct, David Hajdu's Lush Life: A Biography of Billy Strayhorn.

Only assuming you haven't read it already.
posted by IndigoJones at 8:59 AM on May 12, 2010


Response by poster: It's on my list, but I wanted to read an Ellington bio first.
posted by OmieWise at 10:04 AM on May 12, 2010


Take a look at Duke Ellington's America:

“Harvey Cohen is the first scholar to make extensive use of the Ellington papers in the Smithsonian Institution, and Duke Ellington's America is the most detailed and probing examination of Ellington’s later career. It offers sensitive coverage of all of Ellington’s albums and major compositions, particularly after 1960, while virtually every other book on Ellington skirts over or neglects certain productions. Unlike almost all his predecessors, Cohen has produced a book that does justice to the complexity and importance of Duke Ellington’s life.”—Burton Peretti, author of Lift Every Voice: The History of African American Music

I happened to find it through this New Yorker article on Ellington.
posted by paulg at 7:32 AM on May 13, 2010


Response by poster: Thanks. It was actually that article that prompted my question. The review makes pretty clear that while Cohen's book is well-worth reading, it does not replace a standard or artistic biography. I'm looking for something more basic.
posted by OmieWise at 10:04 AM on May 13, 2010


Response by poster: This question may not have garnered many responses because there doesn't really seem to be a definitive biography out there. The question was prompted by reading the New Yorker review linked above, but I've had it as a question since reading Tom Piazza's scathing review of James Collier's Ellington Bio. Unfortunately, Piazza merely suggests listening to Ellington to see how wrong Collier is, rather than suggesting any alternate biographies.

This NYTimes review of Duke Ellington and His World by Lawrence, suggests that it's fairly good, and also points out the limitations of the other books on the market.
posted by OmieWise at 5:07 AM on May 14, 2010


Or you could write one yourself. No, really, why not? Sounds like an opportunity. And you're close to the archives.
posted by IndigoJones at 1:11 PM on May 15, 2010


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