Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 781.65092 EAN: 9780306806148 ISBN: 0306806142 Label: Da Capo Press Manufacturer: Da Capo Press Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 480 Publication Date: March 21, 1995 Publisher: Da Capo Press Sales Rank: 406801 Studio: Da Capo Press
One of the twentieth century's greatest composers, Duke Ellington (1899–1974) led a fascinating life. Beyond Category, the first biography to draw on the vast Duke Ellington archives at the Smithsonian Institution, recounts his remarkable career: his childhood in Washington, D.C., and his musical apprenticeship in Harlem; his long engagement at the Cotton Club; the challenging years of the depression; his tours to Europe and into America's deep South, where he helped lower racial barriers; the postwar years when television and bebop threatened to eclipse the big bands; Ellington's own triumphant comeback at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival; his collaborations with Billy Strayhorn, Johnny Hodges, and Ella Fitzgerald; as well as five decades of hits and masterpieces that constantly broke new ground.The art of Duke Ellington was a musical expression of the African-American experience, in all its pain, pride, and glory. He composed his music as he composed his life—with flair, passion, and individuality—and no book reveals the man and his artistic evolution more brilliantly than Beyond Category.
Amazon.com: One of the 20th century's greatest composers, Duke Ellington (1899-1974) led a fascinating life. The first biography to draw on the vast Duke Ellington archives at the Smithsonian Institution, this book recounts the entirety of his remarkable career: his childhood in Washington, D.C. and musical apprenticeship in Harlem; his long engagement at the glamorous, gangster-owned Cotton Club; the challenging years during the Depression; his tours to Europe and into America's deep South, where he helped lower racial barriers; the postwar years when television and bebop threatened to eclipse the big bands; Ellington's own triumphant comeback at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival; his collaborations with Billy Strayhorn, Johnny Hodges, Ella Fitzgerald, and John Coltrane, among others; and of course, the music itself, five decades of hits and masterpieces that constantly broke new ground.
John Edward Hasse serves as Curator of American Music at the Smithsonian Institution, curator of its traveling exhibition Beyond Category, and producer and annotator of the boxed set of recordings by the same name.
Digital Life Reviews
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Meandering and Ultimately Disappointing
I felt like this book skipped around too much and wasn't really well written. I wanted more analysis of the music and less of why and when Duke was popular and how many records he sold and how much money he made. David Hadju's Lush Life about Strayhorn is PHENOMONAL. Perhaps my expectations were too high? Still waiting for a great bio of the King of All - Sir Duke....
Rating: - Not Merely A Genius Of Jazz...But Rather A Musical Genius!!!
His music has resonated all around us for nearly a century. We almost unconsciously react to the melodic rhythms of his brilliant compositions as we watch television or listen to the radio. Often the arrangements are backdrops to our daily lives...soothing our mood or stimulating us to tap our feet or simply sway to its almost spiritual cadences. Such is the music of the Great Duke Ellington. In "Beyond Category" we find an outstanding biography of arguably the greatest composer the world has ever known. From his early days as an aspiring composer/bandleader in Washington, D.C.; through his New York days at the Cotton Club; and onto his unprecedented tours of Europe, Africa and the Far East, this book takes you on a delightful journey into the creative mindset and personality genius of Ellington. Unlike many writings of this nature, Hasse manages to avoid sentimental veneration in conveying many of Ellington's ... Read More
Rating: - Top Ellington biography of the 3 I've read so far
Beyond Category is the best introduction to Duke Ellington's life and music. It was created to coincide with a Smithsonian exhibit and it offers a quality professional biography of Ellington's life and times. The author considers Ellington's life a series of problems to solve for his mind. Some of these problems are how to learn piano, how to start a band, how to compose with a partner, how to react to the recording band, how to deal with the loss of key soloists, how to compose larger works and ends up hitting many of the high points of Ellington's life and works.
Most of the new research at the time came from Mercer Ellington's enormous donation of his warehouse of materials for the Duke Ellington collectionl. Yet as a book intended for a popular audience, the musical content of this trove was not really fully dealt with. Mercer's collection comes through in the fabulous photographs that are interspersed ... Read More
Rating: - Better late than never
No sentimentality here. Just warm, rich story telling of a great man. I'm actually embarrassed to say that after lifetime of jazz I just dicovered The Duke. This is a very well written and balanced portrayal of a man,his music and his times. If there's more to say I don't want to read it; it's time to listen.
Digital
Life Shop
John Edward Hasse items subject to availability. Some restrictions
may apply. Books
Beyond Category: The Life And Genius Of Duke Ellington presented by digi2005.com Digi2005.com is
an Amazon.com
Associate
Digital Life Music News:
Madonna at the Millennium Stadium - Times Online
Hours before Madonna launched her "Sticky & Sweet" world tour in Cardiff last night, the phenomenal pulling power of history's biggest female pop star was evident for miles around. Heavy traffic tailbacks clogged main roads into the city, while a ...
more News
- Meandering and Ultimately Disappointing
- Not Merely A Genius Of Jazz...But Rather A Musical Genius!!!
- Top Ellington biography of the 3 I've read so far
