The Duke's Finest

Duke Ellington (1889- 1974) was a very successful American pianist, conductor, composer and arranger. His orchestra existed for decades and was able to survive thanks to the enormous hits that he and his collaborators wrote. Many of those songs now belong to the standard repertoire of jazz musicians.Billy Strayhorn (1915-1967) was arranger and composer with the orchestra from 1939, and also wrote Take the A-Train, which became the band’s favourite song from 1941. Many recordings were made of it. Juan Tizol (1900-1984, valve trombone) played with Duke Ellington almost his entire career and composed Latin songs for the orchestra. He is co-composer of Caravan and Perdido.Just likein the original Duke Ellington concerts, the medley begins with Take the A-Train, followed by a number of classics from the repertoire of the legendary orchestra. In some songs there are soloists, notable a solo on kettledrums in C- Jam Blues. This solo can also be improvised.When rehearsing a lot of attention has to be paid to the drum and bass, which together form the rhythm section and drive the orchestra on. The other sections have to be tight and create a coherent swing effect. The swing shouldn’t be too stiff, and can vary per song. For example in "In a Sentimental Mood", the melody can be played almost straight (classically), while the rhythm section continues swinging.