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Tag Archives: music
Late Era Ellington: The Far East Suite
In 1956, during the halcyon days of the Cold War and immediately after the McCarthy era, the US State Department began an interesting experiment. Take some of America’s top jazz talent and put them on tour to spread goodwill and … Continue reading
Posted in Late Era Duke Ellington
Tagged Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington, jazz, music, review
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Late Era Duke Ellington
My mom used to say of Mozart that one can like only a third of Mozart’s music and still like a lot of Mozart. Very true. In his short 30 years of composing he wrote a staggering number of pieces. … Continue reading
Posted in Late Era Duke Ellington
Tagged Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington, jazz, jazz history, music
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Pandit Ravi Shankar, 1920-2012
In the masthead for the gar spot you’ll see the bottom part of my tabla sitting just above the keyboard. This is the instrument I actually ended up studying, and continue to study after over a quarter century. But my first … Continue reading
The Jazz Journey
In the numbing haze in which I found myself on that fateful day in June 1996 when Mom died, I managed to focus while packing for the trip to L.A. to join my family on that which was most important: … Continue reading
Lady Day & Gil Scott-Heron
You’ve changed That sparkle in your eyes is gone Your smile is just a careless yawn You’re breaking my heart You’ve changed One of the last songs Billie Holiday recorded, accompanied by strings, horns, and an angelic female chorus singing … Continue reading