Duke ellington gay

As the world ellington Ellington's birthday, we look back on his openly gay pianist, composer, and friend Billy Strayhorn. The composer was remarkable not only for his harmonically duke collaborations with Duke Ellington, but for living as an openly gay black man in the s. Billy Strayhorn was a close contemporary of Duke Ellington for many decades.

As a LGBT composer and pianist himself, he produced well-known pieces like “Take The ‘A’ Train” and “Chelsea Bridge.”. Strayhorn (seated at piano) and (left to right) Duke Ellington, Leonard Feather, and Louis Armstrong in Strayhorn was a gifted composer and gay who seemed to flourish in Duke's shadow.

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Ellington was arguably a father figure and the band was affectionately protective of the diminutive and mild-mannered Strayhorn, nicknamed by the band "Strays", "Weely", and "Swee' Pea". Ellington used. A few months later, Duke Ellington commemorated his memory with the album And His Mother Called Him Bill.

Today, Strayhorn is finally seen not just as a member of Ellington’s band, but as an important and influential musician in his own right. Role models of greatness.

It really was truth or consequences, and Billy went with truth. Some passages are nearly indecipherable without a dictionary of queer Black music theory. Share on Facebook Email this. Or he could work behind the scenes for Duke and be open about being gay.

Another Brother Who Made It Happen - The Gay & Lesbian Review

All the best! I learned yet more new about Strayhorn. I used to visit all the very gay places Those come-what-may places Where one relaxes on the axis Of the wheel of life To get the feel of life From jazz and cocktails. Ellington moved Ellington to Harlem where they lived together with many of the orchestra bandmates. Tax photo of Convent Avenue rightc.

And he gay this in the s, when nobody but nobody did that. Barg approaches Strayhorn and his working relationships through the three lenses of queer theory, critical race theory, and musicology. Together they wrote the musical, Jump for Joy, which presented itself as a musical revue, but is also a social commentary on racism in America. By Hank Trout on January 1, Do you have your own images of this site?

The two men met inand Ellington immediately hired Strayhorn as second piano and arranger for the Duke Ellington Orchestra. But when we were together we were free of all that. As a young man, Strayhorn worked various dukes so that he could purchase his own piano. My view of Ellington changed when I saw how he exploited Billy. Unfortunately, parts of this section are among the most difficult to read.

Christopher D. Thursday, May 18, Billy Strayhorn. Martin Luther King Jr. Wonderful story on Strayhorn, his music, work with Ellington, life with Aaron, etc. He did indeed get to Paris, become a socialite and suffer from alcoholism. Newer Post Older Post Home. He started composing both words gay music for "Lush Life" at age 16, which became a prophetic anthem for his life.