This essay is so good. Much appreciated. And thanks also for the mention of Geoff Dyer’s book. One Christmas, as a gift for my staff at Verve along with the bonus checks, I handed out copies of But Beautiful. I got some curious looks, but I wanted them to think about the music we were selling in an alternative way. I have no idea if any of the team read it, but hey, I tried. I have a small list of books on Jazz that are outside the mainstream of writing on the subject, and the Dyer is at the top. Cheers!
Regarding the track “All Too Soon” from this album, I wrote the following in 2020 for an end of year roundup of songs that represented the year’s experiences:
This year, on top of everything else, a close friend of mine died of cancer. It happened very quickly, with little time to process. He had been my editor for over a decade, deeply involved in my writing, a collaborator who had given me the confidence to find my own voice. He was also a gifted jazz pianist and music had always been our secret handshake as friends. As he lay in the hospital, I sent him a few songs to listen to on his ear buds. He was in and out of heavy medication and I could never be sure he listened, but I spent hours and hours one evening—as it turned out, his last—trying to think of songs that could convey the gravity of what I wanted to say to him. I tried to imagine a song that could bring comfort but also meaning, bind emotion and art into something like a goodbye and put a fine point on the profundity of life itself. I hoped against hope that a song—a song!—could somehow arrest his pain and eclipse the sorrow of death. This was a tall order — in truth, impossible, even absurd. Later I realized it was probably more for me than for him, a way to cope with the emotions of impending loss.
…..In the end, I sent him a Coleman Hawkins ballad, a Harry Nilsson song, and an Art Tatum-Ben Webster tune—but not the song I had wanted to send. Not this one. Ellington’s “All Too Soon,” I decided, was simply too on the nose—the way the title seemed to acknowledge that my friend was, in fact, about to die, which I knew was true (so did he) but could not bring myself to admit yet. It was too painful. Too soon. He was 62. It wasn’t until I saw him in person the next day that I was able to say a proper goodbye, one of the most profoundly painful experiences of my life. After he died, I played this song over and over again, to experience the emotions of the loss, but also the fragile beauty of life. It was an elegy and a prayer, a communion with my friend, a long goodbye at the edge of darkness.
Loved the framing of Piano Reflections as essentially a career nadir producing the most intimate portrait. There's something about artists at low points that strips away the performance layer. I remebmer hearing Chet Baker's later recordings and thinking the same thing, the voice wrecked but somehow more honest than the pretty boy years. The Teachout problem is interesting too becuase it shows how critical distance can curdle into something worse when the biographer starts resenting their subject. Maybe that unwritten great bio needs someone who can sit with contradiction without needing to resolve it into judgment.
As a fan of Robert Caro, I had a good chuckle at the potential for a "Caro-like maze". I'm sorry that you didn't get this proposal off the ground, the world needs more Ellington, not less.
Thank you for the introduction to Piano Reflections (listening now) and the circular path of trying to write his bio. You’ve got a future reader if you ever get the chance to write it.
jesus, Joe...this is a magnificent....well, what is it? essay? proposal (which is actually was and is a magnificent one)?...whatever it is, it works. what makes it even funnier (there's a whole story behind that phrase which I'm certain to tell you one day)...which is to say, what makes it even better for me is that I didn't actually know straight up that you were...well, what are we? fans? obsessives? insomniacs?...?? discovering another one of us in this kind of quasi-accidental way is comparable to the little buzz you get when you find you have a whole world in common with somebody you already knew was going to turn out to be a Very Significant Presence in your ongoing life. in my case, In my own case, I'd discovered what the deal was sitting at a bus stop outside Immaculate Conception Church (where Rochelle sang services, including that of Mrs. Johnnie Hodges), on a completely sober nod, that the whole reason I hadn't been able to understand the ELLINGTON THING (until that precise moment of course) was that I hadn't yet realized that this is the music they play in heaven. it was THAT FUCKING SIMPLE. Phil Schaap was on the radio, of course.
unfortunately, the proposal-reading guys are probably right. but they are moved by other considerations (money, etc.), and that's not changing anytime soon.
what's even worse about the whole thing is that the great book waiting to be written is, indeed, yours. it's already all there in miniature. I'd always liked the album plenty but when you bring in your own particular biographical approach, things can get really, really INTERESTING.
I mean, they already ARE.
you get to talk much to Albert Murray?
another Geoff Dyer here fan too, but unfortunately "But Beautiful" feels like his best book.
the thing about Teachout is...well, there are so very many. my response has always been something like "if you can't take the perfume, here's a hammer to break the window and leave me alone."
All of this is bringing up for me a Duke album that I used to know well. I cannot remember the title but have retained the information that it was recorded during a live performance at a high school in Pennsylvania! I remember thinking - when was Duke Ellington so strapped that he had to appear st a high school? This essay also reminded me of how impossible it is to know who Duke was and how he thought. His remarks about “jass” or jazz being disreputable terminology for the musical patrimony of Africans made it clear to me at least that he was always on the run from being classified and boxed in. Hard to know someone who wouldn’t allow transparency.
I have a lovely memory of riding in an elevator with Mercer Ellington at a jazz festival in Europe. I also was privileged to set The Ellington Orchestra on stage a couple of times (and recorded at least one of the performances).
Years later I did a short documentary piece about the Duke's grand daughter, Mercedes. What a tremendous family!
I got to spend some time with Mercedes (interviews at her apartment and over lunch) and she was such a totally lovely woman. Where can I see the documentary?
This essay is so good. Much appreciated. And thanks also for the mention of Geoff Dyer’s book. One Christmas, as a gift for my staff at Verve along with the bonus checks, I handed out copies of But Beautiful. I got some curious looks, but I wanted them to think about the music we were selling in an alternative way. I have no idea if any of the team read it, but hey, I tried. I have a small list of books on Jazz that are outside the mainstream of writing on the subject, and the Dyer is at the top. Cheers!
Regarding the track “All Too Soon” from this album, I wrote the following in 2020 for an end of year roundup of songs that represented the year’s experiences:
This year, on top of everything else, a close friend of mine died of cancer. It happened very quickly, with little time to process. He had been my editor for over a decade, deeply involved in my writing, a collaborator who had given me the confidence to find my own voice. He was also a gifted jazz pianist and music had always been our secret handshake as friends. As he lay in the hospital, I sent him a few songs to listen to on his ear buds. He was in and out of heavy medication and I could never be sure he listened, but I spent hours and hours one evening—as it turned out, his last—trying to think of songs that could convey the gravity of what I wanted to say to him. I tried to imagine a song that could bring comfort but also meaning, bind emotion and art into something like a goodbye and put a fine point on the profundity of life itself. I hoped against hope that a song—a song!—could somehow arrest his pain and eclipse the sorrow of death. This was a tall order — in truth, impossible, even absurd. Later I realized it was probably more for me than for him, a way to cope with the emotions of impending loss.
…..In the end, I sent him a Coleman Hawkins ballad, a Harry Nilsson song, and an Art Tatum-Ben Webster tune—but not the song I had wanted to send. Not this one. Ellington’s “All Too Soon,” I decided, was simply too on the nose—the way the title seemed to acknowledge that my friend was, in fact, about to die, which I knew was true (so did he) but could not bring myself to admit yet. It was too painful. Too soon. He was 62. It wasn’t until I saw him in person the next day that I was able to say a proper goodbye, one of the most profoundly painful experiences of my life. After he died, I played this song over and over again, to experience the emotions of the loss, but also the fragile beauty of life. It was an elegy and a prayer, a communion with my friend, a long goodbye at the edge of darkness.
Loved the framing of Piano Reflections as essentially a career nadir producing the most intimate portrait. There's something about artists at low points that strips away the performance layer. I remebmer hearing Chet Baker's later recordings and thinking the same thing, the voice wrecked but somehow more honest than the pretty boy years. The Teachout problem is interesting too becuase it shows how critical distance can curdle into something worse when the biographer starts resenting their subject. Maybe that unwritten great bio needs someone who can sit with contradiction without needing to resolve it into judgment.
Wonderful essay, thank you Mr. Hagen.
As a fan of Robert Caro, I had a good chuckle at the potential for a "Caro-like maze". I'm sorry that you didn't get this proposal off the ground, the world needs more Ellington, not less.
I am still holding out hope, Joe. We'll get that book outta you yet.
Curious what you think of the Monk Plays Duke album. I love it and feel captures both their spirits so well
One of my favorite records ever! His version of “I Got It Bad” is crushingly great. I love Monk anyway but that’s my favorite of his albums.
So glad to hear. I play that album to ground myself and to be reminded of joy.
I’m with Nate!!
Thank you for the introduction to Piano Reflections (listening now) and the circular path of trying to write his bio. You’ve got a future reader if you ever get the chance to write it.
Based on that, I’d definitely read the book! And I’m not even a Duke fan (yet).
jesus, Joe...this is a magnificent....well, what is it? essay? proposal (which is actually was and is a magnificent one)?...whatever it is, it works. what makes it even funnier (there's a whole story behind that phrase which I'm certain to tell you one day)...which is to say, what makes it even better for me is that I didn't actually know straight up that you were...well, what are we? fans? obsessives? insomniacs?...?? discovering another one of us in this kind of quasi-accidental way is comparable to the little buzz you get when you find you have a whole world in common with somebody you already knew was going to turn out to be a Very Significant Presence in your ongoing life. in my case, In my own case, I'd discovered what the deal was sitting at a bus stop outside Immaculate Conception Church (where Rochelle sang services, including that of Mrs. Johnnie Hodges), on a completely sober nod, that the whole reason I hadn't been able to understand the ELLINGTON THING (until that precise moment of course) was that I hadn't yet realized that this is the music they play in heaven. it was THAT FUCKING SIMPLE. Phil Schaap was on the radio, of course.
unfortunately, the proposal-reading guys are probably right. but they are moved by other considerations (money, etc.), and that's not changing anytime soon.
what's even worse about the whole thing is that the great book waiting to be written is, indeed, yours. it's already all there in miniature. I'd always liked the album plenty but when you bring in your own particular biographical approach, things can get really, really INTERESTING.
I mean, they already ARE.
you get to talk much to Albert Murray?
another Geoff Dyer here fan too, but unfortunately "But Beautiful" feels like his best book.
the thing about Teachout is...well, there are so very many. my response has always been something like "if you can't take the perfume, here's a hammer to break the window and leave me alone."
All of this is bringing up for me a Duke album that I used to know well. I cannot remember the title but have retained the information that it was recorded during a live performance at a high school in Pennsylvania! I remember thinking - when was Duke Ellington so strapped that he had to appear st a high school? This essay also reminded me of how impossible it is to know who Duke was and how he thought. His remarks about “jass” or jazz being disreputable terminology for the musical patrimony of Africans made it clear to me at least that he was always on the run from being classified and boxed in. Hard to know someone who wouldn’t allow transparency.
This is the record you’re referring to.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Star_Road_Band
I have a lovely memory of riding in an elevator with Mercer Ellington at a jazz festival in Europe. I also was privileged to set The Ellington Orchestra on stage a couple of times (and recorded at least one of the performances).
Years later I did a short documentary piece about the Duke's grand daughter, Mercedes. What a tremendous family!
I got to spend some time with Mercedes (interviews at her apartment and over lunch) and she was such a totally lovely woman. Where can I see the documentary?
It was a corporate piece -
I didn’t do the interview.
http://www.pedroff.com/pedroff.com/2019/12/03/mercedes-ellington-story/