Ellingtonia A Publication Of The Duke Ellington Society, Inc. Volume XXIl, Number 6 Courtesy Carlyle Productions June 2014 William McFadden, Editor Copyright © 2014 by The Duke Ellington Society, Inc., P.O. Box 29470, Washington, D.C. 20017, U.S.A. Web Site: depanorama.net/desociety/ E-mail: [email protected] One more once—until Autumn . You Make The Call! (a.k.a. Member’s Choice) The Society’s 2013-2014 season will conclude with a program of music chosen by you. We encourage you to bring at least one Ellington or Strayhorn CD, and be prepared to tell us why you wish to have the tune(s) played. Have to miss the meeting? Send the titles of your favorites requested to [email protected] and we’ll be certain they’re heard on-site. No stumping the programmers, please. This cavalcade of members’ choices will take place at Grace Lutheran Church, 16th and Varnum Streets, NW in the Maestro’s home town, the District of Co- lumbia on Saturday, 7 June 2014—7:00 PM. Whether sweet or substantive, pot luck is how we share the edibles, so don’t forget to bring something good. Even if you do forget, come anyway because we do love to see you, madly that is. Management brings beverages and ice. ———————————————— Generous Donation Will Fund Society Memberships For Students Essential to the mission of our Society are the preser- vation and advancement of Duke Ellington’s musical legacy (and with it, that of Billy Strayhorn). It’s all well and good to dedicate ourselves to those ends, but Merry-Go-Round . by Ye Editor we must not forget that preaching to our very sophisti- cated choir alone does not accomplish them. That handsome poster reproduced above is the em- In an extraordinary gesture of commitment to future blem of a splendid four days in Duke and Billy utopia. appreciation of both Duke and Billy, Society member Here’s the ‘short’ version of our Conference report: Dr. Yvonne Condell of Moorhead, MN has funded You would have loved every minute of it as much as 20 Student memberships in The Duke Ellington So- those of us in attendance did! ciety, Inc., available immediately. The 22nd International Duke Ellington Study Group The memberships are offered in memory of Dr. Conference in Amsterdam from May 14-18 was all James F. Condell and Jack Towers, both of whom substantive content, with no ephemera or fillers. It were original Society members. was scholarly without being pompous, a relaxed col- We encourage you to let any and all young persons legiality in a welcoming atmosphere, a stunning com- know that we would warmly welcome their joining us. bination of musical and historical interpretation. Please contact [email protected] to apply. Soon it became apparent and unmistakable—this Yvonne Condell, we thank you for your gift and for ( Continued on next page) your inspiration. You truly are, “All Heart.” Page 2 Ellingtonia June 2014 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ materials since late 2013: the outline of Conference (Continued from front page.) a man on a bicycle waving with his left entire event was a gathering for persons of taste and hand. What was the significance? Was distinction, driven by the common denominator, love! it symbolic of the friendly, bicycle- By comparison, the jewel box setting of the City of dependent citizens of Amsterdam? Hold Amsterdam with its magical charms and beauty was on—It’s DUKE!? nearly reduced to mere lagniappe because the deeper Turns out we could one became immersed in the conference, the more never see the forest gripping the captivation became. for the trees, as it Kicking-off the action was a combined conference were, when the pho- registration and reception, the latter being a long, lei- tograph from the surely affair in an atrium floor of the Conservatorium Orchestra’s first vis- van Amsterdam, the academy for music and perfor- it to the Netherlands mance arts which was the site for all of the sessions. in April, 1939 was Here, we took maximum advantage of the opportuni- spotted in the program booklet. ty to make introductions among the many, known There’s the Maestro on a bike heretofore only from correspondence, the printed with Messrs. Hodges, Stewart and page, and reputation. Carney functioning as training Before long there came an emotional impact from the wheels. Mystery solved . significance of being present in a place where every- The 3 keynote/16 plenary sessions began with one in it, from near and far, was there because of Ed- “Duke Ellington in American History” from the au- ward Kennedy Ellington. Such a realization was both thor of Duke Ellington’s America (2012), Harvey G. powerful and inspiring, enough to make an often jad- Cohen (US/UK). He deftly compressed that entire, ed individual feel awe-struck and a bit dazzled. important book into a 45-minute presentation of its Wouldn’t get over it from then on. Didn’t want to. major themes borne of his brilliant research. It should be noted that for the first time in many The editor of Blue Light and a seasoned newspaper- years the Ellington family was in attendance: Guest of man in his own right, Geoff Smith (UK) regaled us Honor, grand-daughter Mercedes Ellington and neph- over his “Date With Duke,” thus generating what ew Stephen James (one of Ruth Ellington Boat- would become the conference’s unofficial motto, wright’s two sons). Both were actively involved, with “Don’t stop now, Baby.” Duke, of course, coined the pertinent comments, throughout each session and par- phrase as a means of signifying his approbation. ticipated in every event, without exception. Charm- Geoff also described organizing the 2012 Conference ing, affable and gregarious, it was great to spend a in Woking, UK along with details on its acclaimed little time with each of them. concert performance of A Drum Is A Woman. Conference co-chairs Walter van de Leur and Louis An update on the progress of the internet Ellington Tavecchio convened the proceedings the next itinerary search engine, “The Duke: Where and morning by dedicating the 22nd International Confer- When?” was carefully explained by David Palmquist ence to both Sjef Hoefsmit and Alice Babs. Present to (Canada). The man is an absolute saint. Search the express the Hoefsmit family’s warm regards and grati- title, log on, and enjoy using this essential research tude were Sjef’s daughter, Babette and her sons, Wil- tool. lem and Joost Kempe. Musicologist, researcher and author Marcello Piras This, and all of the sessions would be held in an au- (Italy/Mexico) broke down every tiny element of how ditorium named the ‘Blue Note,’ an intimate, three- Ellington (the trained artist) “painted a portrait” of quarter round platform stage with recording studio- Florence Mills with 1928’s “Black Beauty.” quality acoustics and sound system, not to mention a Carl Woideck (US) is a jazz historian, teacher, perfectly-tuned Yamaha grand piano. Throughout the author and saxophonist who presented a research pa- duration, it was common to hear conferees delighting per on Duke’s “Encounters With Africa, 1957-1974,” in how they never before heard Ellington recordings asking a fundamental question of whether Ellington at that volume with such instrumental clarity. Pre- wrote music inspired by his experiences within that senter Loren Schoenberg at one point introduced a continent, with African musicians, with honors from recorded passage with the observation that, “It’s like among others, Haile Selassie. We viewed a brief clip being inside Ben Webster’s mouthpiece.” of the band at Dakar, where the Maestro speaks his Gazing at the projection screen with the conference customary intro to “Caravan” (’cha-cha-cha’), naming logo looming about six feet high, we considered the each musician. This revelation, in turn, provided abstract figure featured in all promotional and related (Continued on next page.) June 2014 Ellingtonia Page 3 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ our conference with another repeated catch phrase, We Remember . “authentic, synthetic hybrid.” HERB JEFFRIES A highly accomplished pianist who also happens to (September 24, 1913—May 25, 2014) possess a Ph.D. in musical arts, Matt Cooper (US) has written a new book on Ellington and the piano: Duke The very first male vocalist Ellington as Pianist—A Study of Styles. He gave a re- member of Duke Ellington and cital whose repertoire consisted of his transcriptions: His Famous Orchestra the aforementioned “Black Beauty,” “The Clothed (intermittently, 1939-1942), and Woman,” and several selections from the 1953 LP, perhaps the very last male vocal- Piano Reflections. Think Daniel Barenboim in a recit- ist directly influenced by Bing al of Mozart piano transcriptions. Sublime. Crosby, actor/singer Herb Jeffries And that was just Day One. succumbed to stomach and heart The following day’s keynote session was by none ailments on May 25 in a West other than Matt Cooper who both explained and Hills, CA hospital. demonstrated his work with the Ellington/Strayhorn Always coy about his age and transcriptions forming the basis for his unique tome. heritage, it was widely believed that he actually was Our good colleague Ken Steiner (US) employed the 100 years old, and that he had been born in Detroit as instincts of a Sherlock Holmes in his painstaking ef- Umberto Alejandro (or Tomaso) Balentino. forts to successfully discover and document the first He was equally evasive when it came to race, once filmed appearance of Duke Ellington and the Washing- noting, “I’m a chameleon.” Although he lived life as tonians in 1925. The silent movie was entitled, Head- an African American, the fact that he could have lines, and Ken’s findings were confirmed in an an- “passed” for white was a topic of constant gossip in nouncement from the Library of Congress on April 29, the segregated US of the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s.