Born in 1899, Ellington initially wanted to be a painter, which may help explain the colorful sweep of his music. He entered jazz as a ragtime pianist, and his long career covered the peak period of New Orleans jazz; the late-1920s prime of Midwest territory bands; New York’s prime big band period of the 1930s and early 1940s; the mid-‘40s advent of bebop; 1950s cool jazz; and 1960s free jazz.
Like some other New York musicians of the big band era, Ellington had strict, formal music training. Growing up in Washington, D.C., he heard and played in polite “sweet” dance bands at elite capitol social functions.
Ellington moved to New York in 1922 and two years later took over Elmer Snowden’s band, a six-piece unit typical of the time. Inspired by James P. Johnson’s classically influenced ragtime compositions, Ellington began to write for his band. By 1926, Ellington’s group had grown to 12 pieces, but the music was stiff, like a pale version of King Oliver or Jelly Roll Morton’s New Orleans-style recordings from the same period. Early Ellington compositions leave room for soloists such as trumpeter Bubber Miley, but they sound young compared to his later creations. Miley’s gruff trumpet pushed Ellington towards rougher, more spontaneous ensemble music in the spirit of the New Orleans style. By the late 1920s, Ellington’s subtle orchestrations of horn sections began to swell under solos by Miley, alto saxman Johnny Hodges, clarinetist Barney Bigard, trombonist Tricky Sam Nanton, and others.
Some of Ellington’s best early music is on the two-CD Okeh Ellington (Columbia), including the cuts “Black and Tan Fantasy,” “Moon Indigo” and “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo,” with horns wailing beneath Miley’s solo.
During the 1920s in live performances at Harlem’s Cotton Club, Miley and Nanton blew loose, sweat-soaked solos that enhanced the group’s “Jungle Band” reputation – for the music it played behind elaborate dance performances.
The Ellington Sound
Ellington’s songs can be tough to follow from sheet music, but even a small amount of listening should start your lifetime love affair. The more you listen, the more appreciate how delicate melodic themes are stated, modified, and restated again in new forms. Ellington was a master at using his sections to weave thick, rich tapestries of sound. Always his music moves with a loose, steady swing.
Go To Page: 1 2
