The Jazz Worlds Of Duke Ellington

For nearly 50 years, Edward Kennedy "Duke" Elilington blazed a trail through the world of jazz, first capturing the imagination of Harlem Renaissance, and creating a uniquely innovative approach to big band sound; then with the aid of brilliant arranger Billy Strayhorn creating some of the most iconic hits of big band era; and then, as jazz faded as a popular music, Strayhorn and Ellington took the band into new genres; quasi orchestra suites and tone poems, and even film scores, such as the 1959 Otto Preminger film Anatomy of a Murder. In three classes, we will take a chronological view of Ellington's remarkable career, discussing his various musical collaborators,his impact on popular culture, and the increasingly broad and innovative tapestry of style and sound that made him arguably the most diverse artist in the history of jazz, at least until the emergence of Miles Davis. We will also address the changing role of jazz in American Culture.