David Roussève: Halfway to Dawn, REDCAT, October 4, 2018 —
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington deserved his royal nickname. Throughout his fifty-year reign as America's premier composer/pianist/band leader and goodwill ambassador to the world, Ellington spoke and carried himself in a courtly, regal manner. He routinely used the "royal we" when acknowledging applause from his audiences--as in, "we love you madly"--and referred to himself, with amused and characteristic noblesse oblige, simply as "our pianist." He was charming and grandiose, elegant and hip.
In truth, the princely Ellington's empire was actually quite small; it consisted of about fifteen loyal musicians, all with virtually lifetime jobs, and a retinue that included a barber, a road manager and a band boy who looked after everyone's instruments and luggage. Backstage for nearly three decades, there was also a small, quiet, bespectacled man named Billy Strayhorn who seemed to be more comfortable in the shadows. His original songs, brilliant orchestrations and creative intelligence enabled mid-career Ellington to refresh and enhance the band. He therefore earned the highest of all Ellington compliments: Strayhorn was "beyond category."
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One Man’s Treasure
Graffiti, A Movement: Judgements and Valuations — People have been distributing unsolicited art to unappreciative recipients since long before Sylvester Stallone left his “movie prop” on the … [Read more]
Heavenly Bodies_Part 3
Fashion and the Catholic Imagination, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Related Posts: Heavenly Bodies, Heavenly Bodies_Part 2 Please Click to Enlarge … [Read more]
Heavenly Bodies _ Part 2
Fashion and the Catholic Imagination, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Related Posts: Heavenly Bodies, Heavenly Bodies_Part 3 Please Click to Enlarge … [Read more]
Heavenly Bodies
Fashion and the Catholic Imagination, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Related Posts: Heavenly Bodies_Part 2, Heavenly Bodies_Part 3 There's a plague of sexual abuse being brought … [Read more]
Art in the Age of Trump
Made in LA 2018, Biennial Exhibition, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles — 2018, the second year into Donald Trump’s presidency, also is the year for the current installment of the Hammer Museum’s … [Read more]
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