SWEET THUNDER - Duke Ellington’s Music in Nine Themes
by Jack Chambers
(Milestones Music and Art)
Duke Ellington has not been well served by writers. Two books, one by Terry Teachout and one by James Lincoln Collier are not only inaccurate but border on the malicious. Unlike them, Jack Chambers knows jazz. His books on Miles Davis and Richard Twardzik are the results of research, tempered with admiration. The over riding impression that remains when you read this book is of Chambers’ love and admiration for his subject. In his own words he hopes ‘to provide new insights to readers who already know Ellington’s music’ +and ‘most of all’ to offer ‘an entry-point for relative newcomers’.
The task of encapsulating the vast legacy that Ellington left is a conundrum. Chambers has rejected the biographical or the discographical approach. He has, as the book’s title suggests, chosen to look at themes. The themes include the importance of plunger mutes, tenor players from Webster to Gonsalves, the mystery of the Hodges-Strayhorn relationship, the story of “the stockpile”, Ellington’s piano playing and the musical links with Shakespeare and with Africa and Asia.
Chambers explains the problem. ‘Ellington poses a formidable task for listeners who might be attracted to him because of the sheer volume of his work. The numbers defy credulity: more than 2000 compositions including songs, soundtracks, reviews, hymns, big band jazz, ballets, tone poems and concert pieces, He was at least 100 times more prolific in his output than Bach, Beethoven, Richard Strauss, Erik Satie, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, or other musicians who might entice listeners looking for substantial musical experiences. What really counts has nothing to do with the numbers, of course. Ellington's works resound with memorable melodies fascinating rhythms and, above all, splendid harmonies That is what counts.’
One chapter is devoted to the way that Ellington developed the use of plunger mutes to give his music unique sonorities offsetting sweetness with pungency. The work of Charlie Irvis, Tricky Sam Nanton, Tyree Glenn, Quentin Jackson, Booty Wood, Lawrence Brown and Art Baron are analysed to bring out their unique qualities. Every major piece across the years has space for one of these artists. Apparently, Lawrence Brown used the plunger reluctantly ‘It can really mess your lip so that you won’t be able to play straight at all’, he was reported as saying. Nevertheless, he played the role when he had to. Chambers argues that Ellington persisted with plunger mutes even when they were outmoded but has now been vindicated as trombone players now make increasing use of the mute.
‘Lotus Eaters Unite’. The chapter deals with the enigma of Johnny Hodges. Often, he seemed to resent his role in the Ellington orchestra. Chambers focusses on the alliance between Strayhorn and Hodges. Both, he claims, are sensualists and produces evidence across the years to back his assertion that Strayhorn and Hodges brought out the best of each other. One thing that I will be grateful for is being pointed to a Hodges solo on ‘Blue Rose’, a Rosemary Clooney record with Ellington. Tucked away in the centre of the album is a Hodges’ solo on Strayhorn’s’ Passion Flower’. It seems to have little to do with the rest of the album, for Clooney does not sing, but Hodges plays with fervour and searing passion and a rare commitment. Maybe it was because the solo was one of the first pieces that Hodges played after his return to Ellington and Strayhorn after a few years away.
Ellington was exceedingly modest about his piano playing. Listeners only have to listen to the intro to ‘Rockin’ in Rhythm’, a piece that Ellington played nightly to realise that no matter how many times he played it, he managed to find something new: driving and lifting the orchestra with it. Chambers in the chapter ‘Panther Patter’ traces Ellington’s pianistics to people like Willie the Lion Smith and James P Johnson. In the sixties you could add his influence on Thelonious Monk or Cecil Taylor. It was in 1940 when bassist Jimmy Blanton formed the core rhythm of the band that Ellington felt strong enough to feature more of his own work. The first important feature of solo playing was the ‘Piano Reflection’ album in the early fifties. Since then Ellington played a fairly abrasive session ‘Money Jungle’ with music to match accompanied by Mingus and Max Roach. His album ‘Piano in the Foreground’ contains a version of ‘Summertime’ that is dissonant and angry. Since then other recitals have emerged. Chambers argues that Ellington has shown a range of playing that strides across years and styles and probably has influenced many pianists who have followed him.
In one of the longest chapters, ‘Bardland ‘, Chambers draws some interesting parallels between Shakespeare and Ellington. Chambers explores Ellington’s suite ‘Such Sweet Thunder’ exploring in detail the music and how it relates to Shakespeare. Particularly interesting is the way that Chambers reveals how closely Ellington follows the structure of the sonnets, ’making music in iambic pentameter’.
Uniquely Chambers has chosen to look at the Stockpile. The chapter ‘Parallel Universe’ covers the Stockpile: a massive archive of recordings that had been bult up over years. Quite simply, Ellington created more than record companies could deal with. This is the best survey of the vast archive. These are the recordings that Ellington made at this own expense whenever the band had some spare time and when Ellington had some material that he wanted to try out. The immense bulk of the material became the property of Mercer Ellington. Some of it has been released by companies like Atlantic and Pablo including the ‘Queen’s Suite’, The’ Goutelas Suite ‘ but most of it after Mercer’s death was bequeathed to Danish Radio. Chambers calculates that about one fifth of Ellington’s output was in the stockpile. Storyville Records are now the designated record company for periodically releasing music from the archive. Chambers explains the importance and the complexities of this vast holding. Nearly fifty years safter Ellington’s death the stockpile is still producing vital material that adds to an understanding of Ellington’s achievement. In recent years the complete Togo Brava Suite has been issued as well as the Sacred Concert from Coventry Cathedral.
‘Afro-Eurasian Ellington’ is a theme where Chambers looks at the character of much of the music Ellington produced in the 1960s. Chambers does not agree with the idea that after 1940 Ellington went into a long decline. The chapter looks at the variety and vitality of the music of the sixties. ‘The Far East Suite’ came after an Ellington tour of the near East. Ellington would not make crude copies of what he heard. Chambers argues: ‘Instead he would conceptualise the music in his own terms and his rationale for doing so stands as a succinct statement of the aesthetic principle that stood him in good stead throughout his career.’ About the exotic rhythms and scales Ellington said ‘It’s more valuable to have absorbed them while there. You let it roll around, undergo a chemical change and then seep out on the paper in the form that will suit the musicians who are going to play it.’
The album title ‘Afro Eurasian Eclipse’ came from the writings of Marshall McLuhan, who was, like Chambers, a professor at Toronto University. Chambers wryly and mischievously describes McLuhan as a ‘momentarily fashionable professor’ McLuhan inspired the speech that Ellington liked to make when introducing one of the movements ‘Chinoiserie’.
This is an important chapter on the music of the latter days because a great deal of the music was written after the death of Strayhorn and it shows how Ellington’s music became leaner, more rhythmic, less sentimental. Maybe, if the book goes to a new edition, Chambers should include some thoughts on one of the key pieces of this era that fits with his general theme: ‘La Plus Belle Africaine’. It was inspired by a visit to Dakar, Senegal. It is a magnificent but sparse composition which looks forward to Africa and back to the Ellington of ‘Black and Tan Fantasy’. The bass player and drummer set out a rhythm that will accompany three major solos (bass, clarinet and baritone saxophone). Between each solo there are three gigantic brass tuttis and pre-primitive rhythm. ‘The Togo Brava suite’ was from this era too and it appeared in short form on one album and in more complete form in the stockpile. it was dedicated to the small African country,Togo, that had included Ellington one of its stamps.
‘Three Steps into The River’ ‘The River’ exists in a number of forms. It was written for the American Ballet Theatre with choreography by Alvin Ailey.. The twelve-movement ballet score charts the course of a river and according to Chambers has ‘a more profound musical expression of Ellington’s spirituality than anything in the Sacred Concerts.’ The most accessible version is the one written for and played by the Ellington Orchestra. Chambers looks in detail at the various versions of this late work.
This is a fascinating book full of generosity, insight and detail that is not available elsewhere. It is A script to return to. It challenges, informs, illuminates, reassures intrigues. The admiration that Chambers has for his subject is evident throughout. He is a great guide to the vast swathes of Ellington; driving you back to the albums or inspiring you to buy some of the music. The book stands side by side with the other great book on Ellington. ‘A Listener’s Guide Duke Ellington’ by Eddie Lambert (Scarecrow Press). Both of them increase understanding and enable deeper understanding of the remarkable musician and composer.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
(Milestones Music and Art)
Duke Ellington has not been well served by writers. Two books, one by Terry Teachout and one by James Lincoln Collier are not only inaccurate but border on the malicious. Unlike them, Jack Chambers knows jazz. His books on Miles Davis and Richard Twardzik are the results of research, tempered with admiration. The over riding impression that remains when you read this book is of Chambers’ love and admiration for his subject. In his own words he hopes ‘to provide new insights to readers who already know Ellington’s music’ +and ‘most of all’ to offer ‘an entry-point for relative newcomers’.
The task of encapsulating the vast legacy that Ellington left is a conundrum. Chambers has rejected the biographical or the discographical approach. He has, as the book’s title suggests, chosen to look at themes. The themes include the importance of plunger mutes, tenor players from Webster to Gonsalves, the mystery of the Hodges-Strayhorn relationship, the story of “the stockpile”, Ellington’s piano playing and the musical links with Shakespeare and with Africa and Asia.
Chambers explains the problem. ‘Ellington poses a formidable task for listeners who might be attracted to him because of the sheer volume of his work. The numbers defy credulity: more than 2000 compositions including songs, soundtracks, reviews, hymns, big band jazz, ballets, tone poems and concert pieces, He was at least 100 times more prolific in his output than Bach, Beethoven, Richard Strauss, Erik Satie, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, or other musicians who might entice listeners looking for substantial musical experiences. What really counts has nothing to do with the numbers, of course. Ellington's works resound with memorable melodies fascinating rhythms and, above all, splendid harmonies That is what counts.’
One chapter is devoted to the way that Ellington developed the use of plunger mutes to give his music unique sonorities offsetting sweetness with pungency. The work of Charlie Irvis, Tricky Sam Nanton, Tyree Glenn, Quentin Jackson, Booty Wood, Lawrence Brown and Art Baron are analysed to bring out their unique qualities. Every major piece across the years has space for one of these artists. Apparently, Lawrence Brown used the plunger reluctantly ‘It can really mess your lip so that you won’t be able to play straight at all’, he was reported as saying. Nevertheless, he played the role when he had to. Chambers argues that Ellington persisted with plunger mutes even when they were outmoded but has now been vindicated as trombone players now make increasing use of the mute.
‘Lotus Eaters Unite’. The chapter deals with the enigma of Johnny Hodges. Often, he seemed to resent his role in the Ellington orchestra. Chambers focusses on the alliance between Strayhorn and Hodges. Both, he claims, are sensualists and produces evidence across the years to back his assertion that Strayhorn and Hodges brought out the best of each other. One thing that I will be grateful for is being pointed to a Hodges solo on ‘Blue Rose’, a Rosemary Clooney record with Ellington. Tucked away in the centre of the album is a Hodges’ solo on Strayhorn’s’ Passion Flower’. It seems to have little to do with the rest of the album, for Clooney does not sing, but Hodges plays with fervour and searing passion and a rare commitment. Maybe it was because the solo was one of the first pieces that Hodges played after his return to Ellington and Strayhorn after a few years away.
Ellington was exceedingly modest about his piano playing. Listeners only have to listen to the intro to ‘Rockin’ in Rhythm’, a piece that Ellington played nightly to realise that no matter how many times he played it, he managed to find something new: driving and lifting the orchestra with it. Chambers in the chapter ‘Panther Patter’ traces Ellington’s pianistics to people like Willie the Lion Smith and James P Johnson. In the sixties you could add his influence on Thelonious Monk or Cecil Taylor. It was in 1940 when bassist Jimmy Blanton formed the core rhythm of the band that Ellington felt strong enough to feature more of his own work. The first important feature of solo playing was the ‘Piano Reflection’ album in the early fifties. Since then Ellington played a fairly abrasive session ‘Money Jungle’ with music to match accompanied by Mingus and Max Roach. His album ‘Piano in the Foreground’ contains a version of ‘Summertime’ that is dissonant and angry. Since then other recitals have emerged. Chambers argues that Ellington has shown a range of playing that strides across years and styles and probably has influenced many pianists who have followed him.
In one of the longest chapters, ‘Bardland ‘, Chambers draws some interesting parallels between Shakespeare and Ellington. Chambers explores Ellington’s suite ‘Such Sweet Thunder’ exploring in detail the music and how it relates to Shakespeare. Particularly interesting is the way that Chambers reveals how closely Ellington follows the structure of the sonnets, ’making music in iambic pentameter’.
Uniquely Chambers has chosen to look at the Stockpile. The chapter ‘Parallel Universe’ covers the Stockpile: a massive archive of recordings that had been bult up over years. Quite simply, Ellington created more than record companies could deal with. This is the best survey of the vast archive. These are the recordings that Ellington made at this own expense whenever the band had some spare time and when Ellington had some material that he wanted to try out. The immense bulk of the material became the property of Mercer Ellington. Some of it has been released by companies like Atlantic and Pablo including the ‘Queen’s Suite’, The’ Goutelas Suite ‘ but most of it after Mercer’s death was bequeathed to Danish Radio. Chambers calculates that about one fifth of Ellington’s output was in the stockpile. Storyville Records are now the designated record company for periodically releasing music from the archive. Chambers explains the importance and the complexities of this vast holding. Nearly fifty years safter Ellington’s death the stockpile is still producing vital material that adds to an understanding of Ellington’s achievement. In recent years the complete Togo Brava Suite has been issued as well as the Sacred Concert from Coventry Cathedral.
‘Afro-Eurasian Ellington’ is a theme where Chambers looks at the character of much of the music Ellington produced in the 1960s. Chambers does not agree with the idea that after 1940 Ellington went into a long decline. The chapter looks at the variety and vitality of the music of the sixties. ‘The Far East Suite’ came after an Ellington tour of the near East. Ellington would not make crude copies of what he heard. Chambers argues: ‘Instead he would conceptualise the music in his own terms and his rationale for doing so stands as a succinct statement of the aesthetic principle that stood him in good stead throughout his career.’ About the exotic rhythms and scales Ellington said ‘It’s more valuable to have absorbed them while there. You let it roll around, undergo a chemical change and then seep out on the paper in the form that will suit the musicians who are going to play it.’
The album title ‘Afro Eurasian Eclipse’ came from the writings of Marshall McLuhan, who was, like Chambers, a professor at Toronto University. Chambers wryly and mischievously describes McLuhan as a ‘momentarily fashionable professor’ McLuhan inspired the speech that Ellington liked to make when introducing one of the movements ‘Chinoiserie’.
This is an important chapter on the music of the latter days because a great deal of the music was written after the death of Strayhorn and it shows how Ellington’s music became leaner, more rhythmic, less sentimental. Maybe, if the book goes to a new edition, Chambers should include some thoughts on one of the key pieces of this era that fits with his general theme: ‘La Plus Belle Africaine’. It was inspired by a visit to Dakar, Senegal. It is a magnificent but sparse composition which looks forward to Africa and back to the Ellington of ‘Black and Tan Fantasy’. The bass player and drummer set out a rhythm that will accompany three major solos (bass, clarinet and baritone saxophone). Between each solo there are three gigantic brass tuttis and pre-primitive rhythm. ‘The Togo Brava suite’ was from this era too and it appeared in short form on one album and in more complete form in the stockpile. it was dedicated to the small African country,Togo, that had included Ellington one of its stamps.
‘Three Steps into The River’ ‘The River’ exists in a number of forms. It was written for the American Ballet Theatre with choreography by Alvin Ailey.. The twelve-movement ballet score charts the course of a river and according to Chambers has ‘a more profound musical expression of Ellington’s spirituality than anything in the Sacred Concerts.’ The most accessible version is the one written for and played by the Ellington Orchestra. Chambers looks in detail at the various versions of this late work.
This is a fascinating book full of generosity, insight and detail that is not available elsewhere. It is A script to return to. It challenges, informs, illuminates, reassures intrigues. The admiration that Chambers has for his subject is evident throughout. He is a great guide to the vast swathes of Ellington; driving you back to the albums or inspiring you to buy some of the music. The book stands side by side with the other great book on Ellington. ‘A Listener’s Guide Duke Ellington’ by Eddie Lambert (Scarecrow Press). Both of them increase understanding and enable deeper understanding of the remarkable musician and composer.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
