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Duke: A Life of Duke Ellington - Terry Teachout
Duke: A Life of Duke Ellington
by: (author)
3.67 30
A major new biography of Duke Ellington from the acclaimed author of Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong   Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington was the greatest jazz composer of the twentieth century—and an impenetrably enigmatic personality whom no one, not even his closest friends, claimed to... show more
A major new biography of Duke Ellington from the acclaimed author of Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong   Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington was the greatest jazz composer of the twentieth century—and an impenetrably enigmatic personality whom no one, not even his closest friends, claimed to understand. The grandson of a slave, he dropped out of high school to become one of the world’s most famous musicians, a showman of incomparable suavity who was as comfortable in Carnegie Hall as in the nightclubs where he honed his style. He wrote some fifteen hundred compositions, many of which, like “Mood Indigo” and “Sophisticated Lady,” remain beloved standards, and he sought inspiration in an endless string of transient lovers, concealing his inner self behind a smiling mask of flowery language and ironic charm.   As the biographer of Louis Armstrong, Terry Teachout is uniquely qualified to tell the story of the public and private lives of Duke Ellington. Duke peels away countless layers of Ellington’s evasion and public deception to tell the unvarnished truth about the creative genius who inspired Miles Davis to say, “All the musicians should get together one certain day and get down on their knees and thank Duke.”
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Format: hardcover
ISBN: 9781592407491 (1592407498)
Publisher: Gotham
Pages no: 496
Edition language: English
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Community Reviews
hpagano
hpagano rated it
3.0 Duke: A Life of Duke Ellington
Ellington, his life, and work, are pretty interesting, but the way this biography was written was not. The biographer established an idea of Ellington's character in the beginning, and that concept never evolved or changed, just continually stayed the same. From a narrative point of view it's more...
Bettie's Books
Bettie's Books rated it
4.0 Duke: A Life of Duke Ellington
bookshelves: published-2013, spring-2014, biography, music, nonfiction, north-americas, fraudio, palate-cleanser, history, under-100-ratings Read from February 23 to March 06, 2014 Read by Peter Francis JamesUnabridged edition 2013 | 17 hours and 43 minutes A major new biography of Duke Ellington...
fossumcarl
fossumcarl rated it
4.0 Duke: A Life of Duke Ellington
Another Consummate biography from Teachout. Duke is a well thought through nuanced warts and all Bio. Ellington is without doubt a musical genius and wounded soul who was unnecessarily cruel to the many women in his life and let no one, not even family ever become too close. He routinely stole ideas...
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