SMITHSONIAN ACQUIRES DUKE ELLINGTON TROVE OF SCORES AND PAPERS
By IRVIN MOLOTSKY, Special to the New York Times
Published: April 27, 1988
WASHINGTON
The Smithsonian Institution announced today the acquisition of a huge trove of papers, memorabilia and orchestral manuscripts of the music of Duke Ellington.
It is a body of work that will permit the complete performance of many of Ellington's big-band pieces for the first time since his death in 1974. The material also includes tapes of the Ellington band that were made in the late 1960's at Ellington's expense and that remain unissued.
''We still have music that hasn't been exposed that he's written,'' said Mercer Ellington, the band leader's son.
Until the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History stepped in and acquired the collection with Federal funds, it had been deteriorating in aManhattan
John Fleckner, the head of the museum's archives center, pointed to a fading photograph of an elegant Ellington at a piano, taken in the late 1920's or early 1930's, and said it was the kind of piece the museum hoped to restore.
The Smithsonian's Ellington collection was paid for with $800,000 in appropriations by Congress. Of that, $300,000 is for the Ellington estate to pay for the material, which consists of 200,000 pages, and the rest is for the establishment of an Ellington archives at theAmerican History Museum
Some of the material will be studied by jazz scholars and musicians, while some of it will be put on display, with Roger G. Kennedy, director of the museum, stressing that aspect.
WORK CITED: Irvin Molotsky, Special to the New York Times. "Smithsonian Acquires Duke Ellington Trove Of Scores and Papers." The New York Times [New York , New York
By IRVIN MOLOTSKY, Special to the New York Times
Published: April 27, 1988
The Smithsonian Institution announced today the acquisition of a huge trove of papers, memorabilia and orchestral manuscripts of the music of Duke Ellington.
It is a body of work that will permit the complete performance of many of Ellington's big-band pieces for the first time since his death in 1974. The material also includes tapes of the Ellington band that were made in the late 1960's at Ellington's expense and that remain unissued.
''We still have music that hasn't been exposed that he's written,'' said Mercer Ellington, the band leader's son.
Until the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History stepped in and acquired the collection with Federal funds, it had been deteriorating in a
John Fleckner, the head of the museum's archives center, pointed to a fading photograph of an elegant Ellington at a piano, taken in the late 1920's or early 1930's, and said it was the kind of piece the museum hoped to restore.
Next to it was the original penciled score of ''Solitude,'' with all the parts written out in a delicate hand that the manager of the collection, Fitzroy Thomas, said had been described as feathery by Ellington's sister, Ruth.
The manuscript was included in a large binder, evidently in the ''S'' section because ''Solitude'' was followed by ''Someone,'' ''Stomp - Look & Listen,'' ''Stompy Jones'' and ''Stroll.'' The pieces in the binder are in good condition, Mr. Thomas said, because they were held in the office of Ellington's lawyer, Lisk Wyckoff, instead of the warehouse, where cold and damp have taken a toll.The Smithsonian's Ellington collection was paid for with $800,000 in appropriations by Congress. Of that, $300,000 is for the Ellington estate to pay for the material, which consists of 200,000 pages, and the rest is for the establishment of an Ellington archives at the
Some of the material will be studied by jazz scholars and musicians, while some of it will be put on display, with Roger G. Kennedy, director of the museum, stressing that aspect.
An article about what will go in museums like the Smithsonian, One day!
WORK CITED: Irvin Molotsky, Special to the New York Times. "Smithsonian Acquires Duke Ellington Trove Of Scores and Papers." The New York Times [
Now honey, you and your music plays sweet love to my ears. I love how easily it seems for your emotions and heart to pour out into your song. I'm in love with how easy it seems for music to come to you.
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