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Duke Ellington
Music lovers everywhere have hailed Duke Ellington as one of the greatest geniuses of jazz. Yet, aside from Ellington's own rather unrevealing autobiography and a collection of reminiscences of his band members, no in-depth biography of this preeminent figure of twentieth-century music
and entertainment has previously existed. James Lincoln Collier fills this gap with his definitive critical biography of both the man and his music.
Author of the highly acclaimed Louis An American Genius , Collier tells the full story of Edward Kennedy Ellington from his childhood as the pampered and adored only son of a middle-class Washington black family to his death in 1974 when over ten thousand people mourned at his
funeral and The New York Times obituary proclaimed him "America's greatest composer." The volume features such highlights as the formation of Ellington's band, which ultimately included some of the greatest names in jazz history such as Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Cootie Williams, Lawrence
Brown, and Paul Gonsalves; his arrival at the legendary Cotton Club in Harlem in the 1920s; his involvement with his manager Irving Mills, who manipulated and cheated him and even put his own name on some of Ellington's songs, but also made him famous; and his relationship with his family, including
his troubled relationship with his son, his marriage, and his many affairs.
Above all, Collier focuses on the creation of the music, from the classic songs such as "Sophisticated Lady" to the "sacred concerts" of Ellington's last years. He argues that we need to view Ellington not strictly as a "composer," but more importantly as an "improvising jazz musician." The
whole band served as his instrument. Not all will agree with Collier's controversial assessments, but this compelling biography will enthrall jazz buffs as well as anyone interested in a fascinating life and times.
and entertainment has previously existed. James Lincoln Collier fills this gap with his definitive critical biography of both the man and his music.
Author of the highly acclaimed Louis An American Genius , Collier tells the full story of Edward Kennedy Ellington from his childhood as the pampered and adored only son of a middle-class Washington black family to his death in 1974 when over ten thousand people mourned at his
funeral and The New York Times obituary proclaimed him "America's greatest composer." The volume features such highlights as the formation of Ellington's band, which ultimately included some of the greatest names in jazz history such as Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Cootie Williams, Lawrence
Brown, and Paul Gonsalves; his arrival at the legendary Cotton Club in Harlem in the 1920s; his involvement with his manager Irving Mills, who manipulated and cheated him and even put his own name on some of Ellington's songs, but also made him famous; and his relationship with his family, including
his troubled relationship with his son, his marriage, and his many affairs.
Above all, Collier focuses on the creation of the music, from the classic songs such as "Sophisticated Lady" to the "sacred concerts" of Ellington's last years. He argues that we need to view Ellington not strictly as a "composer," but more importantly as an "improvising jazz musician." The
whole band served as his instrument. Not all will agree with Collier's controversial assessments, but this compelling biography will enthrall jazz buffs as well as anyone interested in a fascinating life and times.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
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114 people want to read
About the author
James Lincoln Collier
132 books70 followersJames Lincoln Collier (born June 27, 1928) is a journalist, author, and professional musician.
Collier's notable literary works include My Brother Sam Is Dead (1974), a Newbery Honor book that was also named a Notable Children's Book by the American Library Association and nominated for a National Book Award in 1975. He also wrote a children's book titled The Empty Mirror (2004), The Teddy Bear Habit (1967), about an insecure boy whose beatnik guitar teacher turns out to be a crook, and Rich and Famous (1975), sequel to The Teddy Bear Habit. His list of children's books also includes Chipper (2001), about a young boy in a gang. His writings for adults include numerous books on jazz, including biographies of Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington. He has also contributed entries on jazz-related subjects to the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.
In addition to his writing, Collier is an accomplished jazz musician who plays the trombone professionally.
Collier's notable literary works include My Brother Sam Is Dead (1974), a Newbery Honor book that was also named a Notable Children's Book by the American Library Association and nominated for a National Book Award in 1975. He also wrote a children's book titled The Empty Mirror (2004), The Teddy Bear Habit (1967), about an insecure boy whose beatnik guitar teacher turns out to be a crook, and Rich and Famous (1975), sequel to The Teddy Bear Habit. His list of children's books also includes Chipper (2001), about a young boy in a gang. His writings for adults include numerous books on jazz, including biographies of Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington. He has also contributed entries on jazz-related subjects to the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.
In addition to his writing, Collier is an accomplished jazz musician who plays the trombone professionally.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 22, 2020
An excellent biography, notable for its clear, elegant style, its well articulated and well supported musical opinions, and its helpful, detailed paragraph-long descriptions of the arrangements of more than a score of recordings. This is a book primarily about the music, and although it reveals many details of Ellington's life it does so primarily to illuminate his achievement.
Collier prefers--I think rightly--the sustained excellence of the late '20's and 30's band to the brief meteoric splendors of the Blanton-Webster band of the early '40's. In addition, he sees the real genius of Ellington--again correctly, in my opinion--as residing in the recordings of both these periods, not in the uneven fragmentary suites of the 50's and 60's that aspire to the condition of serious music but lack the sustained development required of longer pieces.
I particularly like the final chapter, when Collier tries to explain the precise nature of Ellington's greatness. It is not as a composer, a songwriter or a melodist that Ellington most clearly shows his greatness, but as a jazz musician whose primary instrument was the jazz orchestra itself. He knew exactly what sounds each man could produce on his individual instrument, and he knew how to motivate and manipulate those men to achieve something greater than anything any of them could ever have achieved without him.
April 18, 2021
25 July 2009 - This was a quick but interesting read for me. Because it is written for young people, it spends some time portraying Duke Ellington as an admirable role model, and in some ways he is. At the same time, it is careful not to discourage young students of music from formal studies, which Duke resisted during his entire life.
But what fascinated me was the description of black culture, and the history of jazz, in the first half of the twentieth century. I remember Duke Ellington's funeral in 1974 (I was a sophomore in college), but my taste in jazz ran more to bebop and fusion, so his original music was "old", and his later orchestral works were unappealing. In this book, I saw him as leading a cultural wave through the jazz and swing eras.
While reading this, I listened to an album I own called "Money Jungle" - a compilation of a 1962 recording session of him with Charlie Mingus and Max Roach. It's definitely not the kind of music his fame was built on, but more the kind I like. There are reworks of some of his older band compositions mentioned in the book - like Warm Valley. But I definitely want to check out some of his 1930s and 1940s work now.
But what fascinated me was the description of black culture, and the history of jazz, in the first half of the twentieth century. I remember Duke Ellington's funeral in 1974 (I was a sophomore in college), but my taste in jazz ran more to bebop and fusion, so his original music was "old", and his later orchestral works were unappealing. In this book, I saw him as leading a cultural wave through the jazz and swing eras.
While reading this, I listened to an album I own called "Money Jungle" - a compilation of a 1962 recording session of him with Charlie Mingus and Max Roach. It's definitely not the kind of music his fame was built on, but more the kind I like. There are reworks of some of his older band compositions mentioned in the book - like Warm Valley. But I definitely want to check out some of his 1930s and 1940s work now.
July 30, 2007
Hatchet job!
December 4, 2017
Maybe not actually a five star book, but I'm grading on a curve here. Collier gives us a much needed critical biography of a jazz icon. Not critical as in negative, but simply looking at his subject with an objective eye. People who take the trouble to write biographies of musicians tend to be fanboys by definition, so a good deal of the truth gets swept under the rug. Ellington is a great figure in jazz, but he was also just a guy - a bandleader trying to make a living. I couldn't agree more with Collier's opinion of Duke's long pieces - he just didn't know how to do it. And Duke's self-admitted laziness when it came to writing does make sense when looking back at his career. Duke's greatness (and as Collier says, he truly was great) lay not in his ability as a piano player or a composer, but as a bandleader. He was jazz's greatest editor of musical material, and there's no criticism in that.
When all is said and done, all you can ask for is the truth. I believe that Collier got us closer to the truth than any other Ellington biographer. For that, he gets five stars.
When all is said and done, all you can ask for is the truth. I believe that Collier got us closer to the truth than any other Ellington biographer. For that, he gets five stars.
March 11, 2018
Perverse and deeply unsatisfying.
The author becomes increasingly obsessed with attacking the subject, making repeated vague claims as to his incompetence with no justification. "This was obviously knocked out in half an hour". The research seems to have trailed off in the mid thirties, after which we are left with another 35 years to cover, mostly with "I know more about composition than Duke Ellington, who didn't know what he was doing".
Insert amateur-psych explanation through the lens of the author's complexes here.
The author becomes increasingly obsessed with attacking the subject, making repeated vague claims as to his incompetence with no justification. "This was obviously knocked out in half an hour". The research seems to have trailed off in the mid thirties, after which we are left with another 35 years to cover, mostly with "I know more about composition than Duke Ellington, who didn't know what he was doing".
Insert amateur-psych explanation through the lens of the author's complexes here.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 30, 2013
Not great on its own, but a nice addition to any Duke Ellington library.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews