| Show I Elsa Maxwells Maxwell's 1 I Daily Particles of 01 Patter I Americas America's leading musicians from and to Count Basie and Cab Calloway Calloway Galloway Callo- Callo way gave Duke Ellington a plaque the other night to commemorate commemorate commemorate com com- his twentieth anniversary anniversary anniversary sary concert If I Id I'd had my way however I would have presented him with a ready-made ready coat of arms ann to prove his place In our true aristocracy the liberal arts In the first place there was no surprise or speculation ahead of time about Ellington's orchestra orches orches- tra usually tra-usually usually referred to as a popular dance band playing band playing In the hallowed headquarters of long haired givers concert The spirit of his audience made audience made up of equal parts of black brown beige and white listeners listen listen- ers ers is is always magnificently In In- We who go to a Duke concert take a child like child like delight in each number And are vociferous and violent in our appreciation of different members members members mem mem- bers of the orchestra who catch our fancy Duke never has a typical American concert audience audience audience-at- at attending tending for cultural reasons and carefully applauding In the right places We his listeners are more like Italians at their local little opera house enthusiastically enthusiastically enthusiastically en en- singing their favorite favorite favorite Verdi arias anas along with the singers on the stage and of what my friends returned from Russia tell me about every Russians Russian's ardent attention to each detail of his native ballet It occurred to me that here Is our native music being given the audience It deserves It all adds up to an acceptance acceptance acceptance accept accept- ance of swing as our only per cent American form fonn of musical musical musical musi musi- cal expression But like too many other American artists his fame among the critics has critics has c come com o m e emore emore more slowly at home hom al although although al- al though his popularity among all classes has always been tre tre- Ellington's anniversary program pro pro- gram gram except except for three or four places was places was made up of his own OVID works His newest and most ambitious ambitious ambitious am am- is Black Brown and Beige which the Duke calls A Tone Parallel to the History of the American Negro because each section describes In music a phase in his peoples people's progress It is actually a kind of symphony symphony symphony sym sym- phony in three movements Butin Butin But Butin in spite of its colorful and sometimes sometimes sometimes some some- times barbaric quality and the presence of about four times as many themes as a classic work Black ack Brown and Beige somehow did not quite come off Stirring sections stand out in my mind mind especially especially the Blues part of the Brown movement wonderfully sung Bung by Betty Roche But whether It was because there were too many good melodies lost by not being tied together closely enough enough or or because we are In the habit of expecting swing music in shorter short short- er doses I cannot tell Professional music critics too were uncertain of their own reactions I noticed that Paul Bowles of the Her Herald ld Tribune called it formless and meaningless meaningless meaning meaning- less Irving Kolodin of the Sun chided the Duke for ven yen venturing turing so far from home and aid Mr Briggs of the Post shook his head sadly over the fact that Mr Ellington has set himself a lofty goal and with the best of intentions he did not achieve it ft it itI I think these are all harsh and unthinking criticisms f for r after all it is impossible to judge a a. complex piece of music after one hearing I looked up the first reviews of George Gershwin's Gershwin's Gershwin's Gersh Gersh- wins win's Rhapsody in Blue now Blue now established as the jazz classic classic- and found a a. surprising similar similar- ity Back In February Olin Ohn Downes wrote In the TIme that Gershwin was struggling with a form fonn of which he is fa far from being master Pitt Pitt Sanborn said curtly that the Rhapsody soon runs run oft off this empty passage work and m meas a I. I Ingless repetition Press Alliance Inc |
