Duke Ellington, Jazz Composer Book

American composer, pianist and orchestra leader Duke Ellington was the first genuine jazz composer of truly international status. In this book Ken Rattenbury offers a thorough musical analysis of Ellington's works, assessing the extent to which Ellington drew on the black music traditions of blues and ragtime and the music of Tin Pan Alley, and examining how he integrated black folk music practices with elements of European art music. Rattenbury investigate's Ellington's methods of composition, focusing on works written, performed and recorded between 1939 and 1941, years that witnessed the full flowering of Ellington's genius. He also discusses the criteria Ellington used to select his musicians. After examining two early Ellington compositions for piano, he closely analyzes full scores of five significant pieces transcribed from their original recordings and including all extemporized solos and variations in performance. These transcriptions range from a duo for piano and double bass to compositions for Ellington's full orchestra. Rattenbury draws from Ellington's observations, and those of his orchestra, as well as from his own extensive musical knowledge, to provide new perspectives on Ellington's life and music, and the evolution of the jazz tradition.