Duke Ellington Book

The husband and wife duo of Andrea Davis Pinkney, text, and Brian Pinkney, illustrations, has produced a delightful book on the Duke, Duke Ellington that is.

Born in 1899, Edward Kennedy Ellington said as a young boy, 'Hey, call me Duke'. And so they did - fittingly as it turned out. At the time he was a smooth talking, slick stepping, piano playing kid, which was something of a turnabout for when even younger when his folks wanted him to have piano lessons, he was more interested in playing baseball!

His parents, however, were adamant, and Duke began with the piano basics and his parents made him practise every day (I know the feeling for I was a piano player as a youngster, that is until I discovered playing football and girls) and he disliked it so much that he described the one-and-two-and-one-and-two routine as an umpy-dump sound. Consequently he said goodbye to the piano. That is until he heard the piano played in an altogether different way and that music was called ragtime. He then thought it a soul-rousing romp.

He therefore returned to the piano with serious intentions and developed his own ragtime rhythm. In due course his fingers rode the piano keys as he composed his own melodies. At age 19 he was entertaining at parties, pool halls, country clubs and cabarets and it was not long before he formed his own group, the Washingtonians. They performed in all kinds of New York honky-tonks, Barron's Exclusive, The Plantation, Ciro's and the Kentucky Club and audiences flocked to see the group play.

His big break through came in 1927 when he was asked to play at the Cotton Club and an initial spot brought him a regular gig. The group grew to 12 musicians and their name was changed to Duke Ellington and His Orchestra and their music was broadcast over the radio. With such tunes as 'Creole Love Call' and 'Mood Indigo' the band's popularity soared.

Duke was a big believer in allowing band member to improvise their solos and as a consequence, each instrument in the band had its own voice and style. Sonny Greer on drums and percussion, Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton on the trombone, Otto "Toby" Hardwick on his sleek bass sax and James "Bubber" Miles on the trumpet all gave virtuoso performance while, of course, Duke slid his fingertips across the ivories. And all the while the Cotton Club clientele joined in as they danced such as the Black Bottom, the Fish-Tail and the Suzy-Q.

In due course the whole country swung to Duke's beat and admirers hurried to the record stores to purchase their recordings. Then in 1939 Duke hired Billy Strayhorn, a musician and songwriter, and together they composed unforgettable music and 'Take the "A" Train' was one of the greatest hits of 1941.

Most people called Duke's music jazz but Duke himself preferred to call it 'the music of my people' and he proved the truth of this statement when he introduced 'Black, Brown and Beige' at Carnegie Hall in 1943. It was a cold windy night outside but inside Carnegie Hall the applause was sizzlingly hot.

By the time of his death on 24 May 1974 it was said that more than 800 musicians had appeared with his Orchestra and there is no doubt that his influence on the history of music is still present today.

It is no surprise to learn that this delightful and most informative book was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1999 and that Brian Pinkney was an illustrator award winner for his illustrations in 'In the Time of the Drums' in 2000. The only thing that does surprise me is the note on the bottom of the dust wrapper blurb which states, 'Ages 5-9' - blimey, there must be some well educated children out there ... and as it suited me down to the ground, I never realised that I was still so young - at heart anyway!