Twenty-one years ago the Duke Ellington Orchestra sold out two back-to-back shows in Atwood Concert Hall. This weekend they return with a bunch of the same evergreen tunes and some of the same players -- but with a somewhat unexpected promoter.
Local classical music radio station KLEF is sponsoring the upcoming shows of the big jazz band. If you've been listening to the ads on that station or its affiliates, it's clear that general manager Rick Goodfellow is among the many fans, critics and historians who firmly consider Ellington to be a classic.
"He was an astonishing genius who captured a fundamental part of America that still resonates," he wrote in an e-mail. "His music isn't part of a usual day's programming at KLEF, though we do play him on American holidays."
Edward Kennedy Ellington (1899-1974) is credited with more than 1,000 compositions ranging from pop hits ("It Don't Mean a Thing if it Ain't Got That Swing") to smoother tunes that in Goodfellow's words, "defy category," like "Mood Indigo."
As his career progressed, he expanded beyond big band into religious music, award-winning film scores and orchestral works that bordered on classical.
"He wanted to write in larger forms," said conductor Tommy James, the pianist who will be leading the orchestra in the Anchorage concerts. "A lot of that stuff is embodied in the suites."
In fact James will be including portions of Ellington's "Far East Suite," one of his most ambitious scores, in the Atwood programs.
But his name is forever linked to the band that he formed in the late 1920s which, with minor reconfiguration, continues to keep his music alive.
Ellington had a rare knack for hearing the personality of an individual musician and crafting the score to bring out their strengths. It gave the ensemble a sound that was both strikingly distinct yet smoothly elegant.
It was a class act, and Ellington made sure the world knew it. In contrast with Benny Goodman's casual preppy sport jacket or Cab Calloway's zoot suit, Ellington's iconic photo shows him in a top hat and tails, as polished as Fred Astaire and looking a good deal more serious.
Today's orchestra -- sustained by the Duke's son and now grandson -- maintains that high level of professionalism and experience. You don't apply for an open slot, James said. " You're invited by someone already in the band who wants you in there."
James, for example, was recruited by drummer Rocky White, who was part of the band under Duke himself, in 1987. He held off, he said, until he got a call from Mercer Ellington, the composer's son, then leading the band.
"The conversation was about 30 seconds long," James recalled.
The average age of a player is in the 40s, James estimated. "No young kids or post-college knuckleheads," he said. "We try for a bit of finesse."
But, he stressed, though the orchestra is connected to the band of 80 years ago, it's no carbon copy. "It's not like you're trying to imitate the original cats," he said. "As far as the ensemble work goes, we try to observe everything that needs to be observed. But the alto player doesn't need to sound like Johnny Hodges," the reed man for whom Ellington wrote "Jeep's Blues." "He can if he wants to," James continued. "But he's not sworn to it. You can put your own thing on it. That goes back to Mercer."
The balance of showmanship with musicianship remains the group's hallmark. (A video clip of the current band can be viewed at klef.com.)
And, of course, the Duke's best-known melodies -- many rescued from oblivion through luck and chance. James confirmed the stories of how publisher Irving Mills snatched up Ellington's rejects.
"Duke was writing for floor shows at the Cotton Club. When the show switched out, he'd throw out the music that had gone with it and write something all new for the next show. Mills would go through the garbage and pull 'em out, write some lyrics and get half the royalties. I think 'Mood Indigo' was one of them."
(Mills was also among the first to record a mixed-race record, over the objections of Victor recording executives, with the Ellington Orchestra and 12 white players in 1928.)
Less familiar pieces, important for getting a full picture of Ellington's talent, will be included this weekend. But, said James, the "core tunes" are expected and the band is ready. "We have to do those. 'Satin Doll,' 'Take the "A" Train.' We do '"A" Train' every night. You got to."
Find Mike Dunham online at adn.com/contact/mdunham or call 257-4332.
Tommy James
Tommy James, who will conduct the Duke Ellington Orchestra, was born in New Rochelle, N.Y. He got interested in music when he helped an uncle clean out an apartment. The tenant had skipped out and left behind a piano. He later attended the Manhattan School of Music and has played with the Ellington Orchestra, with an occasional leave of absence for other gigs, since 1987.
But he shares his name with a former pop idol, Tommy James and the Shondells, and a current big band leader, Tommy James and the All Stars.
"I had a gig in Arizona, and they sent a chauffeur to pick me up. All the way back to the hotel this guy's telling me how much he likes my music, going on and on." The driver thought he was talking to the singer who recorded "Mony Mony" and "Crystal Blue Presuasion."
"I didn't want to spoil it for him," said the jazz James. "And I never told him."
By MIKE DUNHAM
mdunham@adn.com