ThoughtGallery.org > Introducing Ellington: The 1920’s

Introducing Ellington: The 1920’s

No one in music history wrote for his own orchestra for fifty years, as Duke Ellington did, and no one composed or arranged music like Duke Ellington. He was sui generis — or in his own words, beyond category. Our lecture series on this giant of American music begins with his band’s earliest recordings from 1926-1931, which includes the period of time the Duke Ellington Orchestra were in residence at the famed Harlem nightspot, the Cotton Club. We’ll explore his unique gift for listening to his musicians and collaborating on compositions with them, and how that brought both their talents and his talents to the fore, with the result being the creation of the inimitable Ellington sound. This is the world of Harlem, Broadway, mobsters, Prohibition, speakeasys, radio, early electronic recording and the complexity of both northern and southern race relations.











When: Thu., Mar. 16, 2017 at 1:30 pm
Where: The 92nd Street Y, New York
1395 Lexington Ave.
212-415-5500
Price: $45
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No one in music history wrote for his own orchestra for fifty years, as Duke Ellington did, and no one composed or arranged music like Duke Ellington. He was sui generis — or in his own words, beyond category. Our lecture series on this giant of American music begins with his band’s earliest recordings from 1926-1931, which includes the period of time the Duke Ellington Orchestra were in residence at the famed Harlem nightspot, the Cotton Club. We’ll explore his unique gift for listening to his musicians and collaborating on compositions with them, and how that brought both their talents and his talents to the fore, with the result being the creation of the inimitable Ellington sound. This is the world of Harlem, Broadway, mobsters, Prohibition, speakeasys, radio, early electronic recording and the complexity of both northern and southern race relations.

Buy tickets/get more info now