Chicago £14.50 (720pp). £13.05 from the Independent Bookshop: 08430 600 030

Duke Ellington's America, By Harvey G Cohen

Suggested Topics

This book starts with a conundrum. Why has the man that many regard as the greatest musician of the 20th century never been the subject of a Hollywood biopic? The answer can be found in a 1974 exchange between a journalist and Ellington's long-term collaborator Billy Strayhorn, about a projected film. Journalist: "I think the story is probably a racial theme, I mean, that's the theme. The accomplishment." Strayhorn: "Well, no, I don't think it should be racial. He's not racial. He is an individual and he has set himself up."

Ellington's panache and assurance had their roots in his middle-class Washington childhood in the early 1900s. Cohen notes that black children of that class and era were "taught to command, rather than demand, respect for the race". As a result, Ellington "subverted stereotypes about how blacks dressed, acted and created".

Even though his prodigious, restless talent ensured enduring success, Ellington "still found himself facing prejudice on an everyday basis". This ranged from the "jungle music" clichés demanded at the Cotton Club, where Ellington made his name in a residency from 1927-31, to a shocking incident when he was invited to dinner at Yale University in the late Thirties. When a student announced, "I don't eat with niggers" and walked out, an observer reported, "Duke didn't bat an eye... and said, 'Gentlemen, let us enjoy our repast.'"

If such ineffable cool is at odds with the heightened drama of Hollywood, the same applies to Ellington's more ambitious compositions. Cohen notes that his deeply researched 1943 composition Black, Brown and Beige: A Tone Parallel of the American Negro is "To this day... not an immediately penetrable work." Ellington maintained that that title "has to do with the state of mind, not the colour of the skin."

In a series of thematic chapters focusing on topics including money, religion and politics, Cohen shows that Ellington was all of a piece. The man emerges as energetic and impressive as his music. Ellington's constant re-invention, Cohen insists, surpassed all musical peers. Since he devotes a chapter to "Fighting Nostalgia", it is surprising that Cohen does not mention the experimental 1962 trio album Money Jungle with Charles Mingus and Max Roach. Still, this exemplary study makes a good case that for persistence and creativity, Duke was nonpareil.

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Career Services

Day In a Page

Can we pull the plug on the plug?

Can we pull the plug on the plug?

Wireless power is beginning to surge its way into homes, businesses and garages
The 10 Best Lecture Series

The 10 Best Lecture Series

From Intelligence Squared - possibly the world's premier debating forum - to the ICA Talks
Still making a big noise: A season of Michael Frayn plays is set to reaffirm the brilliance of his work

Michael Frayn: Still making a big noise

A season of Frayn's plays is set to reaffirm the brilliance of his work
'You could have a job like mine': How successful alumni can inspire pupils

How successful alumni can inspire pupils

Hilary Wilce sees an innovative scheme in action at a London comprehensive
The tuition paradox: You pay more money, you get less choice

The tuition paradox

You pay more money, you get less choice
The rivals: Canberra's political hate story

The rivals: Canberra's political hate story

Six years ago, Kevin Rudd was ousted as Australian PM by former ally Julia Gillard. Is he about to get his revenge?
Menswear finds its swagger to escape role as poor relation of British fashion

Menswear finds its swagger...

... and escapes role as poor relation of British fashion
'There was someone who needed it...' 60 lives, 30 kidneys, all linked in longest donor chain

60 lives, 30 kidneys, all linked in longest donor chain

Organ donation to stranger starts an amazing series of events across 11 US states
The ad that only plays to women: the future of marketing or useless gimmick?

The ad that only plays to women

The future of marketing or useless gimmick?
Sam Wallace: Chelsea's class of 2012 fail to make the grade

Sam Wallace

Chelsea's class of 2012 fail to make the grade
Lewis Moody: My five ways England can bring down the red curtain

Lewis Moody column

My five ways England can bring down the red curtain
Picture preview: Charline von Heyl, Tate Liverpool

Charline von Heyl, Tate Liverpool

Picture preview
Slow progress in Christchurch one year after quake

Christchurch a year on

Residents mark the first anniversary of the earthquake
Niceness rocks! Ballads take centre stage at the Brits

Niceness rocks!

Ballads take centre stage at the Brit Awards
Robert Fisk: 'If only hague and clinton would listen to yusuf islam'

Robert Fisk

'If only Hague and Clinton would listen to Yusuf Islam'