Knowing The Score
A GREAT DEAL of the music used in an 'Echoes of Ellington' concert comes from the
Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. All of Ellington's known surviving manuscripts are held there, and there are so many that the task of sorting and indexeing them is still going on.
An Ellington score reveals much about the way Duke approached his entire art form. Whereas most composers or composers will use professionally printed score paper with a separate line of music for each instrument, Ellington wrote his great works on pretty much anything which was to hand. For the most part they have been written in spiral bound music textbooks, but Ellington had devised a form of musical shorthand which enabled him to record his musical thoughts on the backs of envelopes, menus and the occasional irate letter from a jilted girlfriend!
Only four lines of music
Even when the music is in longhand, there is still a great deal of decoding work to be done. At the maximum, there will be only four lines of music for the (up to) seventeen members of his orchestra. The saxophone section occupy the top line, except for Harry Carney's baritone sax part, which for some reason has the whole next line to itself, but written an octave higher than it sounds. On the third line you will find the trumpets, usually marked as "Cors", a habit from the very early days when comets were used. On the bottom line are the trombones, but you will also find extra notes around the bottom of this which are sketchy indications of the double bass part. The piano, guitar and drums are not written for at all.
Improvised provised sections are denoted on the score simply by using the name of the player concerned and an indication of the length in bars of the solo. Sometimes you see the word "Boston", which was a slang term at the time, meaning to take an improvised solo. Often, you just get a cluster of notes with names and arrows arranged around indicating which musician was to play each part, proof that Ellington really did write for his individual players. This is especially apparent in his saxophone writing where he often changes the player carrying the lead part in the course of one piece to alter the timbre of the section sound. It also means that you have to brush up your anorak to check who was in the band on which instrument at what time.
The following Duke Ellington compositions form part of the orchestra's repertoire.
Take the 'A' Train
Although written by Billy Strayhorn, Duke used this as his
signature tune for many years.
Our arrangement is taken from the 1950 recording, and features
the skittish bebop vocai made famous
by singers Betty Roche and Ray Nance.
Concerto for Cootie
A beautiful piece from EIlington's "Golden Age" of the early
forties, Concerto for Cootie is a showcase
for the singing qualities of the trumpet in its open and plunger
muted states. It occupies an unusual
position in the repertoire of jazz, as the soloist is required to
not improvise.
Main Stem
Originally, and much more fittingly entitled "Altitude", Main
Stem from the early forties, with its twisting
bitonal melody and driving rhythm, is considered by some to he a
signpost pointing to the new jazz of the
mid- to late forties. It is a tribute to Ellington's sense of
human nature that a twisting bitonal melody
which would normally repel a general audience has them on their
feet and dancing within seconds.
I'm Beginning to see the Light
Developed from a line originally written by saxophone master
Johnny Hodges, this song was a big hit
for Duke, and an even bigger one for Harry James. Duke was on the
road at the time this song
became famous, and the first he knew of its success was hearing
it on the radio in a roadside diner.
C Jam Blues
Alternatively known as 'C Blues' or 'Jam Blues', or very
occasionally 'B Sharp Boston', the C Jam
Blues must hold the record for the most amount of royalties
earned from the minimum of
notes wrtten (two). The arrangement played here was written by
Billy Strayhorn, and consists of the
brass chords over the last 36 bars of the piece underneath the
clarinet solo. illustrating Duke's skills as
an editor in drawing 5 minutes of great music from 30 seconds of
composition.
Jubilee Stomp
The Cotton Club Show opener from 1928, Jubilee Stomp gives the
band an opportunity to play some
vintage Ellington with Vintage Techniques. Note that the
saxophone section consists only of two altos
and one C-Melody, the double bass is played mostly with a bow,
and the forbidden
"Instrument of Passion", the banjo, makes an appearance.
Prelude to a Kiss
The mid-fifties arrangement of this classic ballad, featuring the
alto saxophone.
Stompin' at the Savoy
This arrangement dates from 1955, when Ellington recorded an
album of arrangements saluting
his rival bandleaders from the swing era. It was done for him by
a trumpet player called Dick Vance,
who was trying to curry favour with the Duke in order to get a
place in his trumpet section.
Unfortunately for him, the ruse didn't work, and Duke ended up
with a pile of free music.
Such Sweet Thunder
This reflects the more academic side of the band's repertoire, as
it comes from one of Ellington's
famous extended works, in this case, the Shakespeare Suite. As
well as being of academic merit,
it is a rocking blues, giving the trumpet soloist an opportunity
to really shine.
| 
