Honorin the master of
By Courtney McSwain
The George Watts Hill Alumni
Center and James Ketch
recently celebrated the 100th
birthday of jazz legend Edward
Kennedy Ellington, otherwise known
as the “Duke.” As director of jazz
studies in the UNC music depart
ment, Mr. Ketch dedicated one hour
to commemorating Duke Elligton’s
memory by lecturing on the unique
style of the composer both in manner
and in music.
Edward Kennedy Ellington,
who was bom on April 29, 1899 in
Washington D.C. and maintained an
extraordinary career as a band leader,
composer, pianist, and musical
genius. The man who is now com
monly referred to as “Duke” obtained
his name when he was young as a
result of his courtly manner passed
onto him by his father. Acting as
maestro of the Ellington Orchestra
throughout his entire career, the
“Duke” was in the business of mak
ing new musical sounds for almost
fifty-six years. Though Ellington is
considered to be a jazz legend,
according to Ketch, he avoided using
the word jazz as he did not catergo-
rize his music. Jazz itself has been
described as American music with
African roots. However, Ketch con
tends that Ellington often created his
own form of “jungle sound” by “pair
ing instruments from different sec
tional families together.” Billy
Strayhorn, Ellington’s friend and
long time partner describes this as the
“Ellington effect; combining two or
three sounds to create something.”
While suceeding in being a
creative genius, Duke Ellington was
also technically sound. Proving to be
ahead of his time. Ketch describes
Ellington as a “master of the record
ing studio. Before the advancements
that were made in the art of record
ing, Ellington was able to produce
sounds that were far superior to his
contemporaries .” Reaching beyond
the studio, the jazz legend continu
ously performed music for the people
of Harlem in the Cotton Club where
the Ellington Orchestra was a regular
band for nearly ten years. The band
also toured beyond the borders of the
United States appearing in 20,000
performances and bringing jazz to
the attention of music listeners all
over the world. Adding to
Ellington’s list of credits are his
2,000 copyrighted songs, fifteen hon
orary doctorate degrees, and an
Oscar nomination for his filmscore of
“Paris Blues.” During the lecture.
Ketch played several of Ellington’s
compositions in hopes of sparking an
appreciation for the music and mes
sage that Ellington tried to convey.
Ketch’s discussion also
brought attention to the current cele
bration of Ellington’s 100th birthday,
taking place in North Carolina and
throughout the country. UNC stu
dents, faculty, and staff can get
involved in honoring Ellington’s
memory by participating in several
activities happening on campus and
in the surrounding area. Starting
things off will be a Holiday Jazz
Concert on Friday, December 11 in
Hill Hall Auditorium. The concert
will also act as a CD release party for
the North Carolina Jazz Reporatory
Orchestra’s latest collection of
Ellington’s compositions, which is
directed by James Ketch. In April,
the Duke Ellington Sacred Concert
will take place at Duke Chapel, fea
turing several choirs, dancers and
bands. Some of these will include
The Carolina Choir, the North
Carolina Central University Touring
Choir, and Ketch hopes to sign the
Black Student Movement Opeyo!
dancers on board. Other events will
be happening throughout the coming
months. Jazz aficionados, students,
and persons interested more about
learning more about Duke Ellington
can contact James Ketch at the
Department of Music located in Hill
Hall for more information on how to
help celebrate the 100th birthday of
Duke Ellington. ^
12
Black Ink
«