Word: ellington
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...learn the instrument. You have to be as faithful to it as possible." On Dec. 4, Marsalis will test his fidelity in concert at New York City's Lincoln Center, appearing with Flautist Hubert Laws and Soprano Kathleen Battle on a program that will highlight both Bach and Ellington. Next year Marsalis promises he will be doing "a number of classical performances...
...Porgy and Bess has had a curious history. At its premiere in 1935, it received mixed notices and was thought by many to be a failure; yet now it is considered by some to be the great American opera. Blacks were initially offended by its implicit Uncle Tomism; Duke Ellington declared, "The times are here to debunk Gershwin's lampblack Negroisms." Yet black singers have sprung to prominence in its roles, among them Todd Duncan (the first Porgy), Leontyne Price and William Warfield (in a 1952 revival) and Clamma Dale (in the 1976 Houston Grand Opera production). Today...
Sometimes there are unexpected dividends. The Lawrences began exchanging Christmas cards with Duke Ellington (1956) and Egypt's President Nasser (six-time cover subject). Dan Austin, an academic administrator from Plantation, Fla., with almost 400 covers, found that his initial request to Hubert Humphrey (twelve-time cover subject) resulted in a warm, ongoing correspondence. And Kaminsky received a signed cover from William Holden (1956) two months after the actor died. Presumably, it had been cached among Holden's papers, then dutifully dispatched by his executors...
DIED. Sonny Greer, 78, flashy, exuberant percussionist who was the drummer in Duke Ellington's original band, and played with him for 30 years; in New York City. "I gave him a line of jive that set him back on his heels," Greer said about his first meeting with Ellington. "From that time on we were tight...
...What a great feeling!" the pioneer "Scat" or nonsense syllable singer, said after accepting the award Fitzgerald who spent part of her career with the Duke Ellington band said that she had once played at a Harvard prom adding "Who would have ever thought I'd be back to receive an award--it's been a long time this has made up for all the time...