The Duke Ellington Reader
This superb anthology covers the entire length of the composer's career, from his landfall in Manhattan in 1923 to the Old Master period of the early 1970s. There are dozens of reviews, essays, appreciations, and memoirs, written not only by music critics but by such heavy hitters as Ralph Ellison, Simone de Beauvoir(!), and Blaise Cendrars. The book also includes a selection of Ellington's own dicta--be sure not to overlook his 1937 polemic from "Down Beat": "Ellington Refutes Cry That Swing Started Sex Crimes!" Superbly edited and endlessly intriguing, theReaderis an essential volume for Ellington nuts and neophytes alike.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.