Ellington at the White House 1969
"In this masterful book about Duke Ellington . . . Faine documents everything about [the] evening, from the preparations for the concert to the memorable jam session afterward to the long-term effects of the event . . . He shows how politics rule everything at the White House and how Ellington transcended it all. The author's investigation is an overall interesting and thoughtful treatise of the important themes. [It's] a very exciting, readable account that will delight Ellington fans."--Dr. Wolfram Knauer, Director, Jazzinstitut Darmstadt, International Research & Information Center on Jazz“On April 29, 1969, I was on patrol in Vietnam carrying (among other things) a small portable radio with an earbud listening to Armed Forces Network’s broadcast of Duke Ellington’s White House concert. It was one of the few occasions when I could escape to the normality of being a jazz fan in a place where normal had become turned upside down. Today, in comfort, I can listen again, on a well-recorded Blue Note CD, to the concert music that allowed me a brief escape 45 years ago and read Edward Faine’s book, a good companion for which I thank him immensely.” —Russ Shor, editor,VJM's Jazz and Blues Mart