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"Is the Duke deserting jazz?": classicisation through improvisation in Diminuendo and crescendo in blue

Since the beginning of Duke Ellington's career as composer and leader of his own jazz orchestra in the 1920s, a common critical theme has been the comparison with European art music composers such as Delius and Debussy. Assertions such as Constant LAMBERT (1934) statement that Duke Ellington set a "standard by which we may judge ...highbrow composers" focussed on the complex compositional devices in his output. Rather than restate these off-cited judgements of Ellington's compositional style, this paper examines the intersection between the classical and jazz styles by analysing typically improvised sections of Ellington's work. Consideration of the development of an improvised baritone saxophone solo, improvised material in the Interlude, and the role of Ellington's piano in three recordings of his 1937 Diminuendo and crescendo in blue (from 1937, 1953 and 1956 (ELLINGTON, 1937, 1953, 1956),) indicates the establishment of fixed solos in the Ellington Orchestra's repertoire. The degree of composition implied by this warrants further thought. Through close study of these recordings and engagement with contemporary criticism and later scholarly sources (focussing particularly on the writings of Bruno NETTL,1974) I evaluate the implications of the predetermination suggested by Ellington's treatment of improvisation over this period.

Diminuendo and crescendo in blue by Duke Ellington; jazz composition and improvisation; classicisation of popular music


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