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Title: Music Is My Mistress by Duke Ellington ISBN: 0-306-80033-0 Publisher: DaCapo Press Pub. Date: May, 1988 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $18.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (4 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Straight from the master's mouth
Comment: I'm a great fan of autobiography. Granted, often it is sanitized and self-serving, but there's nothing like hearing a person tell their own life, especially if the life is as important as this one. Without a doubt, Duke Ellington was the century's greatest American composer and bandleader; the only ones who even come close to him (Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Cole Porter) had neither his longevity nor his variety. And none of them also maintained a working band through six decades! I own almost every recording ever released by Duke Ellington; his music has become indelibly printed on my brain. This book may not be the most accurate account of his life (if you can handle a little armchair psychology, the Collier biography is the best choice for that), but this is like sitting in a room hearing Duke talk -- and play!
Rating: 5
Summary: Utterly Fascinating Life
Comment: Wow what a book. The best part about this book is that Duke wrote it. You get it straight from him. I recommend this book to anyone into the music.
His accounts of his younger days were what most appealed to me. He pays so much respect to the people he was surrounded by, both his family and the community of musicians. Sometimes the many names dropped can be a bit much, but that was just his style--always letting people know who helped him, who mentored him, who taught him, who he admired. There's scarcely a mean-spirited word in the whole book!
There is a lot of variety to the way he tells his stories. Sometimes its through the name dropping profiles; sometimes its through interviews reprinted for this book; sometimes its through out-and-out philosophical dissertations about music and life; sometimes it's in the midst of his endless travelling of the globe with his band.
For the musician looking for tips and advice, there's plenty of Duke wisdom provided throughout. His overall love for music and musicians is just SOOO apparent. My favorite piece of advice is that he said he learned music exclusively through oral instruction, from people in the scene who would share techniques and secrets seemingly as freely as idle conversation (how different the musical climate is these days!)
The last third or so of the book get a bit tedious for this reader. There just wasn't a lot of variety to his accounts of globetrotting and meeting all the important people in all the countries. What kept me going through these sections were the occasional gems of advice or insight, but there's more of that in the first half of the book. Thank god for the end of the book, a funny interview where the interviewer is REALLY condescending to Duke, but Duke gets through is with all the grace, wit, intelligence, and humor that makes him such a compelling person, composer, and most of all, a genius and musical mystic.
Thank the Duke for this book, and allowing us to get a glimpse of his life and all his amazing stories!
Rating: 5
Summary: Great book showing the life and times of the great Duke
Comment: If you want to know anything at all about Duke Ellington, you can learn it in this book. Not only is it the best source in the world for info on Duke, it is masterfully written. It is one of the greatest books I've ever read, and I've read quite a bit.
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Title: Beyond Category: The Life and Genius of Duke Ellington by John Edward Hasse, Wynton Marsalis ISBN: 0306806142 Publisher: DaCapo Press Pub. Date: April, 1995 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title: The World of Duke Ellington by Stanley Dance, Duke Ellington ISBN: 0306810158 Publisher: DaCapo Press Pub. Date: 26 December, 2000 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title: The Duke Ellington Reader by Mark Tucker, Duke Ellington ISBN: 0195093917 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: June, 1995 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Good Morning Blues: The Autobiography of Count Basie by Albert Murray, Dan Morgenstern ISBN: 0306811073 Publisher: DaCapo Press Pub. Date: April, 2002 List Price(USD): $17.50 |
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Title: Satchmo: The Genius of Louis Armstrong by Gary Giddins ISBN: 0306810131 Publisher: DaCapo Press Pub. Date: 16 January, 2001 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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