Backstory in blue
Subtitle: Ellington at Newport '56
By: John Fass Morton.
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Published: 2008
Place of publication: New Brunswick, N.J
Language: eng
Number of pages: 304
ISBN-13: 9780813542829
Subjects: Ellington, Duke, -- 1899-1974; Jazz -- Rhode Island -- History and criticism
Description: "It may be that the song most baby boomers identify from July 1956 is a simple twelve-bar blues, hyped on national television by a twenty-one-year-old Elvis Presley and his handlers. But it is a very different song, with its elongated fourteen-bar choruses of rhythm and dissonance, played on the night of July 7, 1956, by a fifty-seven-year-old Duke Ellington and his big band that got everybody up out of their seats and moving as one. More than fifty years later, "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue," recorded at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, still makes a profound statement about postwar America - how we got there and where it all went." "Backstory in Blue is a behind-the-scenes look at this epic moment in American cultural history. It is the story of who and what made Ellington's performance so compelling and how one piece of music reflected the feelings and shaped the sensibilities of the postwar generation." "Written from the point of view of the audience, this unique account draws on interviews with fans and music professionals of all kinds who were there and whose lives were touched, and in some cases changed, by the experience. Included are profiles of George Avakian, who recorded and produced Ellington at Newport 1956: Paul Gonsalves, the tenor sax player responsible for the legendary twenty-seven choruses that enabled the rebirth of Ellington's career; and the "Bedford Blonde." Elaine Anderson, whose dance ignited both the band and the crowd."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 285-290) and index.
Table of contents: title: How we got there. A phrase with six tones-apart, yet integral ; Ellington's long road to Newport : apparitions within the music ; Duke's instrument : the '56 band ; The Tiffany label : Columbia Records ; George Avakian : from hot collecting to live recording ; Outdoor live recording : Columbia goes to Newport ; From the masses to the classes : Newport and Elaine Lorillard ; The most unlikely place : Newport to '56; title: Newport '56. Newport '56 : a gathering primed to move ; The Saturday night : converging on the decisive moment ; A leading voice supported by many parts : Paul Gonsalves ; The rhythmic groove of the century : the Gonsalves solo ; Elaine Anderson : the gal who launched seven thousand cheers  Not just patterns in the air : an audience performs; title: Where it all went. As though you were there : the LP ; The Columbia formula : from niche to mainstream ; Sleeping under a fur coat : no longer the rich Mrs. Anderson ; The brotherhood of the jam : on the road with Paul and Duke ; Someone else's freedom : the VOA broadcast ; Festival junction : from Newport to Yasgur's farm.