Duke Ellington: Jazz Composer

Rating:
Summary: Good and less good about this book
Review: The good thing about this book is, that it tries to describe the style of Ellington through musical analysis documented through transcriptions in notes, and it shows how Ellington was influenced by blues, ragtime and Tin Pan Alley. We are though not told everything about Ellington as composer, as one might gather from the title. It is strange that the author doesn't mention the tradition of categorization of the various styles of Ellington, nor do he explains, why he has ignored this tradition. The book must be understood as a contribution to the full investigation of Ellington as composer.

Jørgen Mathiasen, Musicologist and jazzhistorian,

Rating:
Summary: Good and less good about this book
Review: The good thing about this book is, that it tries to describe the style of Ellington through musical analysis documented through transcriptions in notes, and it shows how Ellington was influenced by blues, ragtime and Tin Pan Alley. We are though not told everything about Ellington as composer, as one might gather from the title. It is strange that the author doesn't mention the tradition of categorization of the various styles of Ellington, nor do he explains, why he has ignored this tradition. The book must be understood as a contribution to the full investigation of Ellington as composer.

Jørgen Mathiasen, Musicologist and jazzhistorian,