Guest pick of the week

Ellen here…I received this essay from Scott Atkinson–perfect for our pick of the week recommendations. Scott is a native of Watertown who began his reporting career in St. Lawrence County. For nearly 20 years he was a reporter for WTVH-TV in Syracuse, and for the last 12 years he has been news director at WWNY-TV in Watertown. His cd recommendations follow the body of his essay. 

Looking for advice? Forget the self-help books…find Duke. 

We can hope that one of the few positive outcomes from our economic misery may be the staunching of the flow of business advice books. I can only pray that titles like “Leadership Lessons From Bear Stearns” and “Relationships the Goldman Sachs Way” have passed their sell-by date for once and for all.

Over the years, I confess I spent some time in the “advice” section of bookstores, looking for someone who could help guide my work as the leader of a small newsroom. At a minimum, it would be nice to find a fellow-traveler, someone in sync with my ideas.

I never found what I was looking for, but I have found a way to describe what I want. The book I imagine is called “Running Things” and it’s written by…

Duke Ellington.

I have a short list of heroes–with changes over time. But, Ellington is always, always at the top. Starting when I was in my teens and heard Steely Dan cover “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo,” I fell deep into Ellington’s music, which has enriched and sustained me for decades.

Along the way, I fell in love with the way the man did his job; he embodies so many things I believe are right and good and smart. He kept his eye on the important things, and let the rest slide. The new history, Jazz (Giddins and DeVeaux), recounts his ability to slack:

          Backstage, a more relaxed Ellington was so relaxed and at ease that band members nicknamed him Dumpy. His lassitude in the midst of the day-to-day hustle of running a dance band caused his road manager to complain, “This band has no boss.”

But of course it did. Ellington drew to him an assortment of characters and stars, geniuses and journeymen. They fell in and out of his orbit, most often doing their best work with him, which Ellington accomplished by doing two things at once–holding stubbornly to his sense of “Ellington music,” while catering to the individual styles of his very distinctive crew. His relationship with his band wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough.

He collaborated brilliantly, primarily with (Billy) Strayhorn, but with others as well. Sometimes his “ideas” really started with band members, who were none too pleased to hear a melody or riff show up in a copyrighted Ellington tune. But he would push, pull, and transform those ideas, and he put those royalties to good use, funding the band out of his own pocket during lean times.

His head was in the sky, but his feet were on the ground. Ellington used the band as his personal laboratory, but he also kept it out on the road most of the year, even when he was an old man. He did not foget that he had to pay for his play, nor that his fancy ideas needed testing out in the real world.

He took the form, the two or three minutes on a 78 rpm record, and shaped bright little jewels out of the time he had. He also worked extensively with long forms, but his greatest achievement falls in the late 30s and 40s, when gems like “Ko-Ko” and “Jack The Bear” tumbled out.

He thought directly, like a poet. An example, this quote, again from Jazz:

          It’s a primitive instinct, this dancing business. But it also signifies happiness, and I like to see people happy.

Could anything be more contrary to the way the world works today? Could anything be better?

Here’s Duke Ellington talking about inspiration:

Here are Scott’s picks for the top 5 Ellington cds:

Because Duke Ellington’s career lasted decades and because he switched record labels frequently, there is no one source for all the “good stuff.” Also, the picks listed here are currently in print and can be ordered through your local music store or on Amazon.

That said, the starting point for most people should be Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band. It’s the best Ellington, from the best Ellington band.

Second choice: The Far East Suite. This is late Ellington, from the 60s, so it’s a good start for people who can’t get used to the sound of older recordings.

Here’s the Duke with “Ishafan” from the suite, on The Live at Fargo album:

For pure late night pleasure, Piano Reflections. Ellington on piano, with bass and drums. If he created little gems with his band, these are shards from those gems–tiny, perfect poems. Maybe my favorite album.

Jazz Violin Session, my fourth pick, is a one-off, like the previous pick, but a glorious one. Stephan Grappelli and Ellington’s own string man, Ray Nance, provide the violins. Svend Asmussen plays viola. It’s like the best dessert you’ve ever had, light and sweet.

My fifth choice would be the “Anatomy of a Murder” soundtrack, but like so much of Ellington’s catalog it has again slipped out of print. So I’ll go with Live at Fargo 1940. Arguably, you don’t need it if you buy Never No Lament, but…buy it anyway. For my money, it’s the greatest live recording ever, better than Dylan in ’66, better than “Rock of Ages” or the Allmans live at Fillmore East or “Otis Redding on the Sunset Strip” or even Jerry Lee Lewis’s “Live at the Star Club.” I kid you not.

(This is Ellen, jumping into the mix…I want to share two “essential” bits of Ellington video/sound with you…)

On this one, Ellington is joined by a giant of the generation that preceded him, and a giant of the generation that immediately followed him…a fabulous trio:

A great recording of the signature tune, “A Train”–gotta have it here:

Tags: duke, ellington