ipl-logo

The Significance Of Duke Ellington's 'Black, Brown, And Beige'

1751 Words8 Pages

Emma Carr
Professor Dylan Jack
The History of Jazz
March 10, 2023
The Significance of Duke Ellington’s “Black, Brown, and Beige”
Duke Ellington’s “Black, Brown, and Beige” reflects the experience of African Americans and Black musicians during the early to mid 20th Century. Combining aspects of early jazz with blues and swing, Ellington is able to portray three different messages in each of his movements, calling his audience to recognize the historical significance of slavery in America, racism and lack of respect faced by black Americans and jazz musicians, and the impact that jazz music made on American history. Through the lens of author Garth Alper, writer of “Black, Brown, and Beige: One Piece of Duke Ellington’s Musical and Social Legacy”, …show more content…

In Ellington’s first movement, Black, the listener is shown both the glitz and the guttural sounds that Ellington’s orchestra is able to create. Ellington described this piece in his autobiography by stating that “...I wrote it because I want to rescue Negro music from well-meaning friends…All arrangments of historic American Negro music have been made by conservatory-trained musicians who inevitable handle it with a European technique…It’s time a big piece of music was written from the inside by a Negro.” This statement by Ellington reflects the controversial way that Ellington approached the large-scale symphonic sound and highlights Alpher’s point that the combination between work song and African American church music was a non-traditional method of musical …show more content…

The glitz of the symphony paired with the tones of African Americans secular and sacred music propels Ellington’s arrangement in the direction of cultural integration and demands social recognition of the mistreatment of black Americans in both the past and Ellington’s present. Combining the technical skills of his musicians and the symphonic elements of music, including the frequent crescendos of sound and complimenting melodies, with the raw polyphonic sounds of the swing and jazz style, Ellington shows the audience his message through the non-traditional arrangements and

Show More
Related

How Did New Orleans Create Divided Social Standards?

1118 Words | 5 Pages

[the black musician] improvises, he creates, it comes from within” (Gerard 28). Despite Malcolm X’s criticism of the classically-trained musician’s inability to improvise, the European-influenced creole musicians began to learn to create variation within ragtime’s syncopated form. Likewise, blues musicians adopted parts of the genre of ragtime and implemented it into their call-and-response based music. The merging of these two styles of music occurred as a result of external socio-political pressure of Jim Crow segregation, but ultimately helped establish an innovative and swinging genre of jazz

Read More

How Did Locke Contribute To The Harlem Renaissance

1578 Words | 7 Pages

In the realm of music, African Americans celebrated blues music. The blues music that spread during the 1920s “expressed the longings and philosophical perspectives of the black working class” (). In addition to blues music, jazz became a dominant musical form which established Harlem as an exciting cultural center, resulting in abundant dance halls created where famous musicians such as the trumpeter Louis Armstrong, pianist Duke Ellington, and pianist Fats Waller could perform their unique solos and share their musical talents in an environment that embraced the freedom of self-expression. These developments that occurred in this period called the Jazz Age indeed empowered African Americans to use their musical talents in an effort to strengthen their traditions, culture, and racial status in an anti-black prejudiced society: “"Wild Dreams of Bringing Glory and Honor to the Negro Race," addresses the composer's difficulties in overcoming negative stereotypes, myths, and perceptions that were most often based in racial prejudice” (). Similarly, African Americans contributed to the field of drama, forming all black theatre groups and creating productions that often focused on portraying the folk experience (the experience of blacks in the South) and protesting racial oppression and black stereotypes.

Read More

Ex-Colored Man Vs Locust

968 Words | 4 Pages

His “ambitions to be… a great colored man” manifested in aspirations to portray the “American Negro, in classic musical form” (50, 161). These childhood dreams are only subsequently revived by a white man who “had taken ragtime and made it classic” (155). The irony of his failed attempt to portray black society by succumbing to music forms of white culture is lost on him. Thus, despite his observations on pertinent issues concerning his race, he is oblivious to his bigotry and this subjects him to the ironic gaze of

Read More

Edward Kennedy Ellington Influence

1999 Words | 8 Pages

What made him so unique was that he wrote for the players themselves, allowing each player to have their own sound. Ellington is one of two major figures in jazz whose career goes over decades, but not only that he remained unique and creative even through an evolving modern time. All through his life he was a superior example of how much a black man could achieve and experience in America, even though he had to endure racism everyday. Ellington's numerous bands and orchestras could not be imitated, their sounds every time were so unique and their style of the compositions were instrumental. Many of the music Elington composed described life in the black community and his emotions and feelings towards it.

Read More

Duke Ellington Research Papers

1077 Words | 5 Pages

Duke Ellington and The 1920’s The most important part of the roaring 20’s would have to be the “cultural Civil War,” from the conflicting religions, Harlem renaissance, Women's rights, “the new woman,” versus the old fashioned housewife, all played a key role in the roaring twenties. At the height of the Harlem Renaissance in the late 1920s, Duke Ellington was a pioneer of a new form of jazz music that can be heard in the song “Black and Tan Fantasy.” The 1920’s were full of cultural and economic change as well as increased self expression and nightlife along with dance and the birth of jazz music. “The nation’s total wealth more than doubled between 1920 and 1929, and this economic growth swept many Americans into an affluent but unfamiliar

Read More

Duke Ellington Bibliography

1051 Words | 5 Pages

Introduction: Duke Ellington was a pioneer in the jazz movement, and helped turn what was considered shoddy dance music into an acclaimed art form. Once a young, musically inclined boy eventually found himself caught up in the center of the Harlem renaissance, giving him the connections, knowledge and opportunity he needed to pioneer a different kind of jazz music. The man always considered himself a composer over a musician, and his body of work remains the largest personal jazz legacy. Biography: Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington was born on April 29, 1899, to James Edward Ellington and Daisy Ellington in Washington, D.C.

Read More

1930s Music Dbq

2089 Words | 9 Pages

Print. Geoffrey C., and Ken Burns. Jazz: A History of America's Music. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000. Print. Kallen, Stuart A.

Read More

Harlem Renaissance Dbq

479 Words | 2 Pages

Even though culture was booming everywhere during the 1920’s, nowhere was more exuberant than Harlem. The huge social, cultural, and artistic explosion in Harlem was called “The Harlem Renaissance” or “The New Negro Movement.” This movement’s main cause was to create a new black identity, to show blacks that they should be proud to be black. This movement gave light to many poets, authors, such as Langston Hughes, and gave birth to new styles of art such as Jazz. Jazz was described as “the essence of black music.”

Read More

Duke Ellington Essay

566 Words | 3 Pages

African Americans after the Civil War created many blues melodies that have been passed down as part of their culture. Along with melody, the beat of jazz, consisting of syncopation and polyrhythms came from African communities that were passed down. Along with this, Ellington created some different styles present in jazz. These were “call and response”, ternary forms, and swung rhythms. He also created a balance of music created by him and improv from the musicians.

Read More

What Is The Thesis Of Sonny's Blues Annotated

673 Words | 3 Pages

Introduction “They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art”. – Charlie Parker. During the Harlem Renaissance people weren’t just making music, they were creating a new way of life, a brand-new culture.

Read More

Harlem Renaissance Research Paper

410 Words | 2 Pages

The “New Negro Movement”, later called The Harlem Renaissance, was all about self expression through art (Opinde). Jazz was derived from the experience of black americans, borrowing from European and African musical traditions. Music in this genre

Read More

Jim Crow Laws In The 1920s

505 Words | 3 Pages

“Monroe Berger who notes that jazz music created black-white contact where a black musician received full acceptance as an equal and was (often admired as superior) without condescension”(). The scene of both black and white musicians became more appealing as time went

Read More

Jazz: Duke Ellington During The Harlem Renaissance

912 Words | 4 Pages

Duke Ellington was a jazz author, conductor, and entertainer amid the Harlem Renaissance. During the developmental Cotton Club years, he explored different avenues regarding and built up the style that would rapidly bring him overall achievement. Ellington would be among the first to concentrate on melodic shape and sythesis in jazz. Ellington composed more than 2000 pieces in his lifetime. The Duke Ellington Orchestra was the "house" symphony for various years at the Cotton Club.

Read More

Duke Ellington's Recording Era

492 Words | 2 Pages

Mark Tucker was a professor, a pianist, and an expert on Duke Ellington’s life and his career. He taught at the Columbia University from 1987 to 1997 and the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia from 1997. His scholarly works included Ellington: The Early Years that was published in 1991 and The Duke Ellington Reader that was published in 1993. He was also the co-author of the book Jazz From The Beginning with Garvin Bushell. Tuker organized the article with Ellington’s Early Years, On the Road, Later Year, Composer, Arranger, Songwriter, Bandleader and Pianist, and the Ellington Legacy.

Read More

How Did Swing Music Affect The Civil Rights Movement

782 Words | 4 Pages

Some of them included Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, and Jimmy Lunceford. Interestingly enough, because of the popularity of the music, African Americans were able to produce music and bring it into white society for them to listen to. These African American musicians also influenced many of the white musicians as well. White jazz musicians had taken inspiration from black jazz music for many years, but because of swing, they became even more deeply devoted to integrating this music to blacks and whites. Benny Goodman was one of these white musicians.

Read More

More about The Significance Of Duke Ellington's 'Black, Brown, And Beige'

Related Topics

Open Document