DUKE ELLINGTON (1899 – 1974)
Duke Ellington: Four Symphonic Works - American Composers Orchestra, Maurice Peress
Duke Ellington: Four Symphonic Works - American Composers Orchestra, Maurice Peress
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Among the papers of Duke Ellington held by his sister Ruth Boatwright, there appears a 33-page verse narrative, entitled Black, Brown & Beige, by Ellington. It traces the history of an African named Boola, and tells of his arrival in America by slave ship, of his servitude in a strange and beautiful land, his emancipation, and his discovery of the blues. We then move to Harlem; Duke describes its many ironies and its hope for a new world acomin', the promise of equality, heralded by the Second World War. That Ellington read a great deal of scholarly history about his people is evident throughout. Yet, in the midst of a tale of cruelty and degradation, Ellington creates in his characters a positive sense of self. They are people endowed with a rich and ancient civilization believing in ultimate justice and with a gift for finding joy in love and living. The narrative Black, Brown & Beige is Ellington's philosophical metaphor for black survival in a white world. It very well could have been the original program for his music of the same title which he called "a tone parallel to the history of the American Negro."
This disc is quite simply the finest collection of symphonic Ellington ever recorded. In Maurice Peress we have a conductor who combines a complete idiomatic grasp of the music with the ability to really conduct a large symphony orchestra confidently and charismatically. He has the American Composers Orchestra playing with the perfect combination of rhythmic freedom and corporate discipline. The various saxophone, piano (Roland Hanna), trumpet, and clarinet soloists are all top-notch, and they do Ellington proud.
This large-scale arrangement of Black, Brown and Beige nicely complements Peress’ version for this same label of the complete work in its original jazz-band scoring (hopefully Nimbus will issue that as well). Harlem has seen other recordings, most notably Järvi’s on Chandos, but this one has more sass, thanks to its sharper rhythmic profile. Three Black Kings, scored here by Luther Henderson, by rights ought to be a repertory piece alongside such favorites as An American in Paris. I don’t need to go on, save to say that the sonics were and remain excellent, and that this release belongs in every serious classical and jazz collection.
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