Ellington

In his recent book, The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century, Alex Ross, music critic for the New Yorker, notes these strong words from Duke Ellington: "To attempt to elevate the status of the jazz musician by forcing the level of his best work into comparisons with classical music is to deny him his rightful share of originality." Despite Ellington's reservations about such comparisons, the legendary composer and bandleader was among those leading the way in exploring the nexus of the two genres.

Like a lot of musicians, Cleo Laine is a great Duke Ellington fan. And Ellington, as it turned out, was something of a Cleo Laine fan. "Often, Duke said that he would like me to sing with the band," she recalls. "Unfortunately, when he did ask me seriously to sing with the band, I was involved in other things. So it never came about."At least not while Duke Ellington was alive. But after Laine and her husband, saxophonist John Dankworth, wound up sharing the bill at a few shows with Mercer Ellington and the Duke Ellington Orchestra, they thought it might be interesting to do an album of Ellington songs with the Ellington band.

The music world is paying homage to Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington this month, which would have marked his 100th birthday. In Annapolis, jazz vocalist Ethel Ennis will lead the celebration."

As the first musician ever to have been signed simultaneously to the jazz and classical divisions of Columbia Records, Wynton Marsalis is intimately familiar with the differences and similarities between the two worlds. We spoke to him over the phone, during a tour stop in Boston, and asked what he thought about treating jazz like classical music.Q: Lately, it seems as if certain kinds of music from the pre-rock era are being treated with the same reverence as classical music. What does this portend for jazz?

NEW YORK -- Publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux had a good day yesterday, winning two awards in the Pulitzer Prize arts categories: in fiction for "The Hours," a novel by Michael Cunningham, and non-fiction for "Annals of the Former World" by John McPhee."

The composer and music critic Virgil Thomson wasn't merely being flip when he said, "The way to write American music is simple. All you have to do is be an American and then write any kind of music you wish." From the homespun hymns that entered the 18th century Psalter, to Appalachian folk songs, to African-American spirituals, jazz, Broadway, Tin Pan Alley and formidable symphonists such as Aaron Copland and Charles Ives, our music has been as eclectic a national statement as one could imagine.

Who was the greatest American composer of the 20th century? Some would say it was Aaron Copland, who evoked the American landscape as vividly in music as John Ford did in film. Others would argue that it was Charles Ives, who composed music unlike anything heard before or since. Still others would strike up the band for George Gershwin, who brought the blues to symphony hall.Yet as admirable as those men were, another composer towers over them: Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, who was born in Washington 100 years ago this Thursday.

Ballet Theatre of Annapolis has announced a new season, to open in two weeks, that will offer classical ballets to delight the most ardent traditionalist and treasured favorites to please the family.This 19th season of the BTA, which since 1980 has been under the artistic direction of Edward Stewart, promises to be one of BTA's most exciting and ambitious ones.The 1999-2000 season will offer four full-length productions to be presented at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts.The season will open Oct. 22 with the company's only modern dance program of the season, "Ellington Suite," choreographed by Stephanie Powell, in celebration of the centennial of the birth of musician-composer Duke Ellington.

WASHINGTON -- You can see him from a block away, his profile dominating a brilliantly colored, 24-foot by 35-foot mural.The eyes with their familiar bags underneath seem to follow passers-by along this revitalized stretch of U Street. In this painting, Duke Ellington looks as if he might have been up all night, composing, thinking about music.Ellington, born 100 years ago today, grew up here. He lived in the 1200 block of T Street, a block from where this mural casts a steady eye over the old neighborhood.

Irving Gordon, 81, a songwriter who wrote "Unforgettable" and won a Grammy for it four decades later after Natalie Cole recorded it as a duet with her late father's recording, died of cancer Sunday at his home in Los Angeles. His songs were recorded by such greats as Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday and Patti Page.Pub Date: 12/04/96