Description:
Onstage, Duke Ellington was an effusive, electrifying personality. Offstage, he was something of a cipher, which led one longtime associate to speculate that "only a whole convention of people who 'knew' Ellington, each revealing their understanding of the enigma, could begin to piece together an accurate portrait of him." Stanley Dance, an Ellington booster since the 1930s, has assembled exactly this sort of composite picture. His book includes verbal snapshots of the orchestra on tour, and several conversations with the man himself. The main attraction, though, is the series of interviews that Dance conducted with dozens of orchestra members, including Ben Webster, Cootie Williams, Paul Gonsalves, Harry Carney, and Johnny Hodges. None of these gentlemen claim any profound intimacy with their employer (although baritone saxophonist Carney, who also chauffeured Ellington between gigs, probably spent as much time in his company as any other human being). But their accumulated conversation does add up to a rare--if inevitably partial--portrait, as well as a treasure trove of musical insight.
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