#Billy Strayhorn

[dekaydk]

It is impossible to overstate the importance of Duke Ellington to the music world in general, not just to jazz.

Ellington would eventually (two and a half decades later) go on to perform in Anatomy of a Murder with Jimmy Stewart, and, together with his longtime composer Billy Strayhorn, score the movie—America's first movie with a full jazz soundrack—and garner multiple Grammy Awards for the soundtrack.

(It is worth noting that Billy Strayhorn was openly gay to both Ellington and the Ellington band, at a time when that was Not Done. After Strayhorn died in 1967, Ellington recorded an entire album as a memorial tribute to Strayhorn.)

Duke Ellington with his band at Paramount Studios during production of BELLE OF THE NINETIES (1934) starring Mae West and based on her original story, “It Aint No Sin.”

Mae West fought to have Ellington in the movie. “I want Duke Ellington in this picture. You haven’t got anybody here that can play like this man.’” - West to Paramount execs

[realmoftheacornking]

You

Must take the 'A' train

To go to Sugar Hill 'way up in Harlem.

If

You miss the 'A' train

You'll find you've missed the quickest way to Harlem.

Hurry, get on, now it's comin'

Listen to those rails a thrummin'...

[readyforevolution]

Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie and Billy Strayhorn.

[alesario]

Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, and Aaron Bell, Los Angeles, California, 1960

photo Gordon Parks

[brainscrems]

Were he still alive billy strayhorn would be 119 years old today! Take a moment to learn about an under-credited black, queer, historical figure and musical genius!

[evelynhugosthings]

“I think everything should happen at halfway to dawn. That’s when all the heads of government should meet. I think everybody would fall in love.”

Billy Strayhorn, American jazz pianist and composer

[jazzdailyblog]

Russell Procope: The Unsung Hero of Jazz Clarinet

Introduction: In the pantheon of jazz greats, there are many musicians whose contributions are often overshadowed by more prominent figures. One such unsung hero is Russell Procope, a gifted clarinetist and alto saxophonist who played an integral role in shaping the sound of big band jazz. Known for his long tenure with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Procope’s career spanned several decades and…

[wantsneedsandloves]

Ellington & Strayhorn.

[hezigler]

The story of jazz’s most TRAGIC standard.

[mydailyvintagephotos]

Remembering

Billy Strayhorn 🌹🕊️

On his Birthday 🎂

November 29th 1915

[ourmindonmusicpodcast]

Billy Strayhorn: A Key Thread in the Tapestry of Jazz

Billy Strayhorn is one of the greatest composers in the history of jazz. He is best known for his nearly 30-year partnership with jazz legend, Duke Ellington. Stayhorn/Ellington compositions feature such classics as “Take the A Train,” “Satin Doll”, and “Lotus Blossom.” Strayhorn joined Ellington’s band in 1939, at the age of twenty four, and by the end of the year Strayhorn had become essential…

[anitosoul]

Record pickup after The Strangeness of Jazz presented by Edward George

[realmoftheacornking]

Billy Strayhorn (1915-1967), composer of jazz standards such as 'Lush Life' and 'Take the A Train', frequent collaborator with Duke Ellington, and, in the face of its dangers, quite openly homosexual.

[greaterstokesawareness]

Stokes Song Spotlight: "Lush Life"

This first song spotlight segment is brought to you by me learning that the word "distingué" exists and what it means (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

Okay so hear me out, I was on the phone with my mom discussing normal everyday things like Frank Sinatra songs we've never heard before. My mom offered up the recommendation to listen to "Memories of You" from the new Sinatra Platinum release (x). While I was scrolling through this album on Spotify, I saw that "Lush Life" was on there.

"Lush Life" is a song that I had never heard before summer 2022 when I heard Brian Stokes Mitchell sing it at 54 Below. He told the story of Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington and how Strayhorn was a black, out, gay man during the 1940s/50s jazz scene. He wrote the song when he was 16! A few days after the 54 Below show, I heard Stokes sing the song on the Boston Pops performance that aired on the radio, and then again two more times live at the Perelman Center (10/5/23) and Ridgefield Playhouse (10/29/23). Ted Firth features prominently on piano, playing a long mood-setting intro before Stokes comes in on vocals and then another solo in the middle of the song.

“where one relaxes on the axis of the wheel of life, to get the feel of life..”

It’s one of those hypnotic songs, that somehow feels both simple and complex at the same time. I am extremely biased (you know where you are) but I’ll type it out anyway, Stokes’s version is my favorite. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen him sing it live and up close and you can tell he loves it too, but I also think his version is the most mournful. And what I mean by that is he just gets across all the story potential in the song. Like he paints the scene of a guy in a rumpled suit, sitting at a corner table, a fedora pushed back to the crown of his head, hungover and nursing a drink too early in the morning —but in that sad, smoky almost Edward Hopper-like picture you can also see that he’ll be back later, decked out and ready for those brief moments of life that the night brings when the band is playing and everything is right. I know I watch too many old movies it’s true. I guess what I’m trying to say is Stokes makes it cinematic ‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ My next favorite version is by Sarah Vaughan.

Anywayyyy, I’m not gonna lie I thought the lyrics were “distant gay traces” but they are actually “distingué traces.” I’ve never heard that word before and I had to look it up, it means having a distinguished manner or appearance and it makes the song so much better. It also gave me the idea for doing these song spotlights because I love learning and sharing my dumb nerd research. So please enjoy the links below for more info about Billy Strayhorn and then pop your headphones on and give this song a listen in all its many forms. And here’s hoping that it makes its way onto a Stokes album someday ✨

[side note: looking up stuff about this song also helped me to learn that the aforementioned Ted Firth has an album titled Lush Life with Tony Desare and one of the tracks is, you guessed it, Lush Life!] (x) (x)

Links:

versions of Lush Life by Stokes (x)

playlist with other versions of Lush Life (x) (x)

the lyrics (x)

an NPR interview from 2007 in support of PBS documentary about Strayhorn (x)

Link to Lush Life: A Biography of Billy Strayhorn by David Hadju on amazon (x)

[alesario]

Paris, 1960

photo Herman Leonard

[happilyshadowyfest-blog]

Billy was a tortured soul. Or maybe he was just born too early. Duke always gave him full credit for his song writing. Anyone who praised Ellington numbers like A Train, Lush Life etc. was immediately informed that they were Billy Strayhorn compositions.