#billy strayhorn

[readyforevolution]

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

#blacktumblr #black history #black liberation #african history #duke ellington #oscar peterson #dizzy gillespie #billy strayhorn

[alesario]

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

photo Gordon Parks

#duke ellington #billy strayhorn #aaron bell #gordon parks

[davidhudson]

Duke Ellington, April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974.

With Billy Strayhorn at the Chateau Marmont in 1960. Photo by Gordon Parks.

#duke ellington #billy strayhorn #gordon parks #jazz #music

[lisamarie-vee]

#billy strayhorn #jazz #b&w

[jazzdailyblog]

Billy Strayhorn: The Unsung Maestro of Jazz Brilliance

Introduction: In the expansive realm of jazz, there are luminaries whose names echo through the corridors of musical history. Yet, nestled in the shadows of the giants, an unsung maestro’s contributions to the genre are as profound as they are underappreciated. This blog post pays homage to the genius of Billy Strayhorn, a composer and arranger whose musical brilliance left an indelible mark on…

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#Billy Strayhorn #Duke Ellington #Duke Ellington Orchestra #Jazz Composers #Jazz History

[hezigler]

The story of jazz’s most TRAGIC standard.

#jazz #jazz music #music #lush life #billy strayhorn #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbtq+ #popular songs #josh walsh #Youtube #lgbtq artist

[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)

#brian stokes mitchell #jazz #billy strayhorn #duke ellington #lush life #ted firth #tony desare #greater stokes awareness: song spotlight #greater stokes awareness: author's note #greater stokes awareness

[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…

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#Billy Strayhorn #Duke Ellington #jazz #Jazz Greats #music #music discussion #Music Education #music of our youth #musician #piano

[mydailyvintagephotos]

Remembering

Billy Strayhorn 🌹🕊️

On his Birthday 🎂

November 29th 1915

#billy strayhorn #musician #jazz #composer #african american #Sagittarius #dayton #ohio

[kickmag]

Throwback: Duke Ellington-Take The A Train

Billy Strayhorn wrote "Take The A Train" for Duke Ellington soon after he was hired by him in 1939. The song was inspired by travel directions Ellington gave Strayhorn on how to get to his home in New York City. Strayhorn's love of bandleader Fletcher Henderson's style influenced the genteel horn arrangement for the tune that had to replace "Sepia Panorama" because of expensive ASCAP fees. Lee Gaines of The Delta Rhythm Boys wrote the first lyrics for "Take The A Train" and vocalist Joya Sherrill wrote her own which she present to Ellington during her audition for the band in 1944.

The song became a jazz standard and was covered by many including Ella Fitzgerald, Charles Mingus and Sun Ra. Ellington and his band performed it in the 1943 musical film Reveille With Beverly with singer Betty Roche. "Take The A Train" became Ellington's signature song and it is considered one of the most important compositions of the 20th century. The Duke Ellington Center Big Band will perform a free concert on May 21st in New York City at the Duke Ellington statue to acknowledge the late bandleader's 124th birthday. Ellington's granddaughter Mercedes Ellington and Tony Waag who is the executive producer of the American Tap Dance Foundation will co-host the annual event. 

#duke ellington #billy strayhorn #joya sherrill #lee gaines #reveille with beverly #Youtube

[negrolicity]

#negrolicity #music #musicians #black composers #happy birthday billy strayhorn #billy strayhorn

[deadassdiaspore]

#Billy Strayhorn #Black musicians #Black music history #Black composer #Black queer artist #Black archives

[alesario]

Paris, 1960

photo Herman Leonard

#duke ellington #billy strayhorn

[thomasberglund9]

Take the A-train is the jazz standard tune of the jazz standards tune. Written by Billy Strayhorn, 1939. I have done a chord/melody guitar arrangement to the song and there´s also a transcription to the solo in the video. The pdf files are available from links below as well as the extended backing track.

Patreon page ► https://www.patreon.com/thomasberglund

Chord/Melody Guitar arrangements - Pdf files. ► https://www.thomasberglundguitarlessons.com/store/pdf-files---store-1/jazz-chordmelody-pdf---store.html

Tee Bee backing tracks (Jazz 7-8). ► https://www.thomasberglundguitarlessons.com/store/teebeebackingtracks---store-1/jazz-7---store.html

Original guitar solo transcriptions, pdf files: ► https://www.thomasberglundguitarlessons.com/store/pdf-files---store-1/original-solo-transcriptions-jfl-pdf---store.html

Members area website. Sign up here. ► https://www.thomasberglundguitarlessons.com/forum-1/members-signup.html

My official guitar lessons website: ► https://www.thomasberglundguitarlessons.com/home/index.html

Get two free e-Books with 15 Jazz & 15 Fusion guitar licks here. ► https://www.thomasberglundguitarlessons.com/forum-1/free-e-books.html

Feel free to like, share & subscribe!

#youtube #jazz guitar #guitar lessons #chordmelody #guitar arrangement #billy strayhorn #take the a train #guitar solo #jazz solo #jazz lessons

[lisamarie-vee]

#billy strayhorn #jazz #b&w

[jazzdailyblog]

Chris Connor: A Jazz Odyssey in Vocal Harmony

Introduction: In the ever-evolving landscape of jazz, certain albums stand as milestones, shaping the course of the genre. One such gem is “Chris Connor,” an eponymous album by the iconic jazz singer. Released in 1956 under the Atlantic label, it marked Atlantic Records’ foray into the realm of jazz vocal LPs, creating ripples that would resonate through the years. Unveiling the Sonic…

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#Billy Strayhorn #Chris Connor #Classic Albums #Cole Porter #Duke Ellington #Harold Adamson #Jazz History #Jimmy McHugh #John Lewis #Milt Hinton #Nick Travis #Ralph Burns #Zoot Sims