Jungle Nights & Soda Fountain Rags
Duke Ellington and
the Duke Ellington Orchestra – A Poem by Brian Gilmore
*****
Karibu Books,
Prince George’s Plaza, 3500 East/West Highway, Hyattsville, MD 20782, USA. Price $12.00
Tel: 301 559
1140 Fax: 301 559 5316 website: www.karibubooks.com
There have been scores and scores of words written and published already about Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington, and Jungle Nights & Soda Fountain Rags is unlikely to be the last of them, but perhaps none other will match up quite like this one written in verse, for covering the vast output of the Duke Ellington musical works in book form, would surely seem to be about “the one coming up” without end.
Brian Gilmore provides his contribution in the form of a poem of poems in seven narrative divisions, or chapters, in what he refers to as Suites, in this case, a Suite being a major part of the Ellington works for jazz orchestra. The 1943 Black, Brown and Beige, Suite V, is based on a series of concerts held at Carnegie Hall with the intension to portray the history of black people of America through their music.
Economical in the stringing out of its words, words subtly employed and with strategically placed names, the poem relates a vivid everyday story during the lifetime of Duke Ellington jazz orchestras, with a not-over-the-top social dimension theme running through it, therefore not leading to distraction from the core subject matter and beauty of this uniquely constructed poem, covering over one hundred pages about an American genius, who, a quarter of a century after his death continues to inspire countless of jazz musicians worldwide. .
To all Duke Ellington aficionados, it will make for absorbing reading, and for poets, laymen, clothed women, dancers, lovers and readers of great literary works of art down the ages, it will make for them to want to reach out and learn more about this band leader phenomenon, who with an output of well over 2,000 compositions of one sort or another to his credit, undoubtedly makes him probably the most important composer ever in the history of jazz music, as I summed up from my first reading beginning to end without interruption of the Gilmore poem.
Although elsewhere in redemption, the author notates in either fore or maiden name format soloist sidemen who were a source of inspiration utilising a single line of prose for each name, thus showing the importance and influence that they had on their pianist, composer, leader and his works in creating the Ellington effect, a phrase coined by Billy Strayhorn a principle arranger. The jazz artists read in fuller titles as: Cootie Williams; Harry Carney; Barney Bigard; Clifford Brown; Wellman Braud; Sonny Greer; Fred Guy; Arthur Wetsol; Ethel Watters; Juan Tizol; Tricky Sam Nanton; Freddie Jenkins; Johnny Hodges, Ivie Anderson, “relaxing rioters” under the section Caravan, of the World Music, Suite II, where the author makes reference to the trials and tribulations of the band, and, mode whilst on the road, other than about the Latin jazz element of the song in which Irving Mills, Duke Ellington and Juan Tizol in 1936, started to put in train.
Night and stars above that shine so bright. The mys ‘try of their fading light – that
shines upon our CARAVAN.
Suite VI Newport - it was following the 1956 Newport jazz festival than the Duke Ellington Orchestra got a new lease of life, after hearing there the Ellington rendition of the 1937 Diminuendo And Crescendo in Blue featuring Paul Gonsalves playing frenetic choruses on tenor, then in 1958, Duke was presented to Queen Elizabeth during a concert at the Leeds, England jazz festival, and in the same year, Mahalia Jackson was recorded singing the 23rd Psalm on BB&B finale.
Suite VII, For My People, the final one - the opening is somewhat down in the “North & South” as I’ll express it in cockney slang, but it recovers when I learn that in 1965, the famous piano player who did not want to be categorised, penned “My People” in music.
Moving into the bebop era, there are another forty-six of the Duke Ellington jazz inspirers highlighted by Brian, notably, numerous of them had had their roots in New Orleans music, and at one time or another came under the influence of King Oliver and Louis Armstrong, putting into context to some degree, just how enormous is the works of band leader Duke Ellington.
Reading between the lines as taken from the Gilmore phrase - he’s got an unshakeable rhythm - purging Pulitzer denials - muting critics with his – masterworks - never a bad word for the enemies - one begins to understand, that the poet is referring to the Ellington contributions aimed at and for his people, in effect, words perhaps spoken by Duke himself.
Soda Fountain Rag 1914; Jungle Nights of the 30s in New York; Harlem, Suite I in tone; Swing, Suite III; Boogie, Suite IV; the Symphonic Ellington, all that and more, so how can one let rest for ever Duke Ellington without category or a designated description?
As each page is turned in his book, Brian Gilmore has given readers the opportunity and encouragement of becoming lifetime students in finding out much that there is to know about the works of Duke Ellington and his famous sidemen jazz artists.
Duke Ellington was born in Washington DC (District of Columbia) USA, and died in New York, New York, USA in 1974, aged seventy-five.
Ian King - Kings Jazz Review – Croydon, Surrey, England - Tuesday the 29th of August 2000