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In January of 1926, just eleven months prior to
Royal Albert Hall's wildly successful Charleston
Ball, London would see the first issue of a monthly
publication whose legacy quickly became inseparable
from the huge rise in popularity of jazz culture
in Great Britain. Founded by music publisher Lawrence
Wright, "Melody Maker" magazine announced itself
as "A Monthly Magazine for All Directly or Indirectly
Interested in the Production of Popular Music,"
and throughout the subsequent decades would provide
editorial, commentary, and reviews on both leading
and emerging popular artists, with a continuing
commitment to the promotion of American jazz.
Following six years of increasingly affectionate
reviews of the Duke Ellington recordings coming
from America, it was in the November 1932 issue
of Melody Maker that the first hint of his British
premiere was announced through the statement "A
whisper has been heard that Duke Ellington and his
orchestra are to visit this country next year."
By June of 1933, the now-weekly Melody Maker would
then proclaim "Musicians are getting thrill after
thrill. 1933 is indeed a red-letter year for fans.
Louis Armstrong is to return and Duke Ellington's
visit is on everybody's tongue." In the accompanying
programme cover for Ellington's much later, 1967,
Royal Albert Hall performance, the image of this
American musical icon is showcased in one of his
many return visits to London. In this 1967 concert,
benefiting the London Philharmonic Orchestra's national
appeal, the Ellington Orchestra would perform five,
Duke Ellington classics, accompanied by the LPO,
led by acclaimed, British conductor John Pritchard.
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Included in the programme text for the 1967, Royal Albert Hall event, an essay by saxophonist and music critic Benny Green would state "Edward Kennedy (Duke) Ellington, born in Washington D.C., in 1899, is a composer-pianist-bandleader of such extraordinary gifts that the jazz world from which he sprang has never really been able to explain him. In a sphere dominated by the process of improvisation, Ellington has produced countless masterpieces over a forty year span by recourse to orchestration of increasing subtlety and sophistication. All known definitions of jazz fall flat in the face of his contribution to and influence upon the music, and the irony is underlined by the fact that from within the confines of his superbly drilled orchestra comes consistently some of the most brilliant improvisations ever achieved in the jazz field."
Capturing a rare, performance moment from his earlier,
1966, British tour, the accompanying photo of the Ellington
Orchestra at Coventry Cathedral was no doubt included
as part of the Royal Albert Hall concert programme because
of the enormously important, musical event that it documents.
Accepting a 1966 invitation to give a performance of his
"Sacred Concert" compositions in Coventry, and while standing
before British painter Graham Sutherland's magnificent
tapestry at the cathedral's alter, Ellington stated, "This
music is the most important thing I've ever done or am
ever likely to do. This is personal, not career. Now I
can say out loud to all the world what I've been saying
to myself for years on my knees."
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Rodney Friend w/Duke Ellington
London, 1967
© Royal Albert Hall |
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In the accompanying, 1967 photo
of Duke Ellington and renowned, British violinist
and concertmaster Rodney Friend, Ellington can be
seen preparing for his Royal Albert Hall performance,
later that evening. The musical pieces included
in the first half of the evening's programme included
"Overture, Tam O'Shanter" by Malcolm Arnold, "New
World A-Coming," "Intimacies," and "The Golden Broom
and the Green Apple" by Duke Ellington. Following
intermission, the second half would include "Variations
and Fugue on a theme of Purcell" by Benjamin Britten,"
"Harlem," and "Piano Medley" by Ellington.
Also included in the evening's Royal Albert Hall
programme text, Ellington explains the story of
his composition "The Golden Broom and the Green
Apple" to jazz critic Julian Holland by stating
"The golden broom is a symbol of the spin we live
in. It's the vehicle of the beautiful-rich-city-witch.
And as we ride on it, reclining back in deep plush,
dashing through space at great speed - we do it
as a harp solo - the jet stream is sucking up gold
for us. But for all that, there is still the green
apple. The green apple is the symbol of our potential.
It belongs to the poverty-strick-country-chick.
She moves slowly but she swings all right. And these
two women are driving around the town, the beautiful-rich-city-witch
and the poverty-strick-country-chick, and eventually
they both arrive at a main intersection at exactly
the same moment."
He continues "At the intersection controlling the traffic is a very handsome, very popular traffic cop. And there they are, both at the intersection at the same time, and the very handsome, very popular traffic cop only has one ticket. (He only has one ticket left because the chicks of the town all prefer to commit their indiscretions at his intersection.) So, who does he give the ticket to? The beautiful-rich-city-witch for speeding? Or the poverty-strick-country-chick for blocking the traffic with her green apple? That's the question at the end of the piece." When asked if the very handsome, very popular traffic cop represented Ellington, he replied "No, it's you (pointing to Julian Holland)." Clearly, referring to us all.
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