First published 2016
Tony Bennett opens the Ellington family archives to reveal the complete story of America's most influential jazz composer. From childhood in Washington DC through the explosive creativity of the Harlem Renaissance, Bennett traces how Edward Kennedy Ellington became the architect of the American songbook. The book follows Ellington's rise from local performer to international sensation, documenting his European tours of the 1930s and his later experiments that expanded jazz beyond traditional boundaries. Bennett weaves together over two hundred photographs, vintage playbills, and personal documents with insights from musical legends like Dave Brubeck, Quincy Jones, and Cornel West. Mercedes Ellington, the composer's granddaughter, provides intimate family perspectives that reveal the private man who created "Solitude," "Prelude to a Kiss," and "It Don't Mean a Thing." This visual biography captures five decades of American music history through the lens of its most prolific composer.
Genres: biography, 20th-century, american, african-american, music, jazz
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family
Setting: Harlem, Washington DC
Period: 1930s, 20th Century
224 pages · Hardcover · Rizzoli