Every note is in vivid color. There just would not have ‘been’ without Duke Ellington. The delicate and elegant glamor of sophisticated swing. The demand for respect in the toughest times when so many saw wings clipped by always wrong and often horrific attitude and pressure.
Music written, music played, his bands were extensions of the workings of an expansive and full spectrum plumbed creative mind that gave only the best and the super, always. The song in the songs was the language of emotion, sensuality, and expression of the deepest depths of all of the precious corners of the human soul. There was no fear when saying and showing what and who he was and how he made all that he made equally important. When you really listen and hear Ellington, it’s as if you’re in on the message.
Now go and look back and listen. There just would not have ‘been’ without Duke Ellington.