[Dixielandjazz] Duke Ellington and uniqueness

[ROBERT R. CALDER]

Basie and others maybe had to disband, but not Ellington, who had at times to use his song-writing royalties to keep his band together by "giving them money".  There was a peculiar period not to mention recording date with only Ray Nance on trumpet -- I would not say with only one trumpeter, since that would altogether belittle the singularity of Nance's playing, not least on the date in question. 


Of course the notion that even the Ellington band ceased for a while to exist is just a piece of over-generalising. There is a nice clip of Basie answering the question whether his band or Ellington's was the better. He obviously thought it a ridiculous one, and as regards the difference between their respective ensembles pronounced in decisive and admiring or even awestruck tone, "Class". 


I don't suppose I had appreciated quite what a player Ray Nance was until I had for review a reissue of the material with no trumpeter but he. Reports of his post-Ellington career, guesting with the band and then touring with the Alex Welsh band suggest very unhappy effects of a recognised unhappy combination of diabetes (which I know he suffered from) and not necessarily a ridiculous intake of alcohol, but quite apart from everything else he could do and even without his mute work he was one of the great trumpeters-cornetists. 

"That's the sound!" Jimmy Rushing said in particular admiration,

and as I recall from one documentary about the Ellington band, it wasn't exactly certain what would be played where -- like a lengthy movement from one of his suites to a barnful of Las Vegas gamblers. Or -- announced by the piano player as Dixieland -- Money Johnson doing a Louis Armstrong act at concerts on the final tour of UK. 

Robert R. Calder