Edward Kennedy
"Duke" Ellington
1899-1974
Welcome to The Duke Ellington
Society of Sweden (DESS)
The Profiles:
Edward
Kennedy
"Duke" Ellington
Composer, pianist,
bandleader
29 april
1899 ---
24 maj 1974
We Love You Madly
Teckning: Olle
Snismarck
HOME
THE HISTORY OF DESS
DUKE ELLINGTON
IN SWEDEN
MEMBERS
MEETINGS
MEMBERS
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD
IN ENGLISH
LINKS
___________________
Copyright DESS
Last modified
15 december 2011
duke@ellington.se
The aim of our society is to maintain and spread the knowledge of Duke Ellington, his life, his music and his musicians. We arrange regular meetings with high class live performances with music from the repertory of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. The program of the meetings also include discussions, film shows etc.
We have a Bulletin
also partly written in English where we produce articles, interviews and
information received and collected from Dukish friends from all over the
world. It is issued four times a year. Through our homepage, you can follow
the activities of the Duke Ellington Society of Sweden.
If you have the same admiration for Duke Ellington and his
lifework please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you would like to
become a member of Duke Ellington Society of Sweden.
An easy way to become a member is to pay the member fee through
Pay Pal’s money transfer service. Don’t forget to leave your name and
address. You’ll then soon have the latest issue of our Bulletin and an
invitation to our forthcoming member’s meetings.
Very Welcome – We love you madly
Alice Babs Jazz Award
2010 to the guitar player
Erik Söderlindh
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Johnny Hodges - The Composer
A catalog of 224 of his own compositions with examples of recordings.
Alternative Titles
Many of
Duke Ellingtons melodies were renamed at one time or another. To bring
order this compilation from The New Desor is helpful. It is here
complimented with two-way listing to ease title search.
Bubber Miley discography
12 pages of
detailed information about his recordings, with illustrative notes and
comments from musicians.
Society of Sweden
c/o Leif Jönsson
Anbudsvägen 15
187 50 Täby
Telefon:
08-51 05 03 14
Mobiltelefon:
0706-22 88 16
Plusgiro:
11 63 75-7
E-postadress:
duke@ellington.se
Hemsida: www.ellington.se
Annual Ellington Conferences were held all around the world in the 1980´s and 90s. One took place in Copenhagen in 1992 and quite a few Swedes attended this Conference. Alone from the capital of Sweden, Stockholn, there were about10 delegates.This Danish Conference was a big success and it inspired the Swedes present to start planning a possible future Conference in Stockholm. Göran Wallén was the driving force and he found support from other delegates like Rolf Dahlgren, Alf Lavér, Olle Lindholm, Peter Lee and Bo Haufmann. They were carried on by a common feeling that Sweden meant something special to Duke Ellington: Many Swedes had played in his orchestra like the trumpetplayer Rolf Erikson, the trombonist Åke Persson, the singer Alice Babs och pianoplayer and composer Nils Lindberg. Moreover Ellington had manifested his feelings about Sweden in the composition “Serenade to Sweden”etc.
A working committee consisting of a dozen enthusiasts, was formed with the intention of arranging a Conference in Stockholm 1994. A legal platform for the Conference required a registered association and therefore Duke Ellington Society of Sweden was established in 1993.Göran Wallén was elected chairman and did as such a great job as musical organizer and finding financial support among organisations and in the business world.
“Rikskonserter”, arranging musical events nationwide, came into the picture and got its own representative in the wellknown jazz musician Lennart Åberg who successfully offered his competence as organizer in Swedish music life as well as aquiring financial support from various cultural organizations. The Swedish Radio helpfully assisted in preparing for a concert at the Berwald Hall in connection with the Conference.
The Conference took place in May 1994 och and was very well recieved. At a concert held at the Stockholm Concert Hall such Ellington alumni as Clark Terry, Louie Bellson, Willie Cook, Rolf Erikson, Joya Sherrill and of course Alice Babs took part –John Lewis also attended.
When the Conference was over it was decided that the Society, DESS, would live on. A news letter named “Bulletinen” would be published four times annually, running material on Duke Ellington, his life and work. Meetings would also be arranged four times a year, when lectures on Ellington would be given and Ellington music would be presented in live concerts. The concept has worked well och DESS has steadily attracted 200-250 members, spread all over Sweden with a certain concentration to the Stockholm area.
In 1999 DESS arranged a concert at the famous Stockholm ballroom “Nalen” to celebrate the centennial of the birth of Duke Ellington.In 2004 DESS with Göran Wallén as chairman took the iniative in a second Ellington Conference in Sweden, 10 years after the first. The Conference was held on the “Nalen” premises
DESS continues its activities along these lines, trying to preserve the memory of Duke Ellington, his music and his life.
New members are most welcome
to join!
Bo Haufman
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ESS Bulletin 4 2010 Chairman’s words
When
writing this editorial at the end of October 2010, we have had three
successful concert venues at Duke’s Place in the Gyllene Cirkeln (Golden
Circle). The venues mainly have been sold out and the Board of DESS has been
able to note that the audience to 35-40% has consisted of members and
accordingly to 60-65% of non-members. The Board believes that it is the
re-introduction of jazz at the Golden Circle that has enticed many new
visitors and moreover, some of these have become members in DESS. The number
of new members this year is approximately 50.
In another part in this Bulletin is reported about a recent member meeting
with lectures and showing of a film. The impression of the Board from the
meeting was that the members present did like the program and then Member’s
Choice in particular, which latter was requested to be a standing part of
the members’ meetings. This is one item on the program where also members
outside the Stockholm area may participate by sending the text to hers or
his music selection for reading during the meeting or by enclosing a CD with
the recorded reading of the text. Seeing that the proportion of female
members in four years has increased from 10% to over 20% and also
constitutes 30-40% of the visitors to member meetings and Duke’s Place,
contributions from these are extra welcome.
Our recently produced CD was well received by the members and we have received a number of positive comments like for example quote: ....All considered it is a really nice initiative and surely much appreciated and I really look forward to more deliveries like this!....” The Board hopes to be able to produce a follow-up in a not to distant future and with music samples from the orchestras that have participated in recent years. The fact that we have succeeded to keep a high standard on the music that is presented during our club meetings is proven by some foreign comments like from George Avakian, who writes quote: ”I had no idea there was this much Ducal activity among Swedish musi- cians! Please convey my congratulations.”
The DESS Bulletin now in your hand is our 3rd in 16-page format because available material has permitted this, but the material doesn’t come falling as “dry plums”. The editorial staff and I like to encourage our members to send articles or notes in any form and/or a request for a deeper article on a certain subject related to Duke Ellington. One member, Leif Klitze in Norrtälje (50 miles North of Stockholm), has developed an idea to a new serial item in the Bulletin, namely “Member’s Story”, which is planned to be introduced in the first Bulletin in 2011. Furthermore, the editorial staff recently has been reinforced by two new names; Claes Englund and Conny Svensson. Conny’s wife, Sonja, in addition is in the back ground as a support for the editorial staff.
The other week, my wife put a book in my hand and said: “Read it!” “What?, I said, “why should I read about an alcoholic’s death - about Stickan Andersson, even if it is true that he is world known to be the man behind the world success of ABBA?” “Read it”, she said, “because it has many deep levels.” Yes, already on page 35 (in the Swedish version) there is a quote from one of Sweden’s greatest ballad singers with a recommendation to a very young Stickan to read some of Sweden’s great poets and quote: “...study Ellington and modern ballad compositions.” It is fascinating that Duke evidently had a musical influence also on the “father” of ABBA.”
On 22 November we have the next concert venue at Duke’s Place. The program is partly changed since the previous DESS Bulletin. I expect a new interesting and stimulating music evening and hope that in spite of or because of competition from another place that our loyal members and guests will favor Duke’s Place. See you then!
For DESS
Jan Falk, chairman
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One
thing that was important to me both before and after I was elected to be
Chairman of DESS was to create a DESS CD01. Now it’s completed and I’m
pleased on behalf of the Board to introduce the CD to all members and
particularly the members who have not been able to come to our club evenings
at SAMI.
The result achieved has been what I wished and hoped for:
- A good title: Echoes of Duke Live from
Duke Ellington Society of Sweden
- Favorite music by Duke Ellington and
other distinguished composers.- Swinging Musicians, who
enthuastically plays for an appreciating audience.
- Non-mastered recordings made by Gert Palmcrantz, which
means that we get a recorded sound that
corresponds to the ”live”-impression in the concert hall.
What
more can one request? All pieces of music are not made by Duke Ellington,
but in the choice between Duke’s compositions and the musical performance,
the latter has been chosen.
I have listened to the DESS CD many times during the editing this summer,
but I have also played my favorite from Newport Jazz Festival 1956 -
Diminuendo in Blue and Crescendo in Blue.
It is the goal of the Board of DESS that there shall be a continuation – DESS CD02. Then I have a dream: To be able to finance and to have the possibility to make a Swedish version of D&C in Blue. We don’t have any musician that can recreate Paul Gonsalves’ solo. However, with the assistance of a leading music orchestrator it might be possible to arrange the solo for 2-3 top musicians. They shall be backed by an orchestra with a number of Sweden’s best musicians – regardless in which orchestra they normally play. The recording shall be made by Gert Palmcrantz – who likes the idea.
Why do I think that this recording from the Newport Jazz Festival is so significant apart from the magnificent music? It is according to my opinion the predecessor to all other jazz-, pop- and rock concerts because it was the first larger concert, as far as I know, where the audience was completely excited – the shouts of joy and the dancing didn’t want to end.
With the assistance of the Board and Gert P. I’ll try to arrange that the new version of C & D in Blue may be included in a future DESS CD02.
What more has happened since the previous Bulletin? The Alice Babs scholar is the guitarist Erik Söderlind, who will come to Duke’s Place on 22 November. The May meeting at Duke’s Place at Gyllene Cirkeln was a success– see review in another place in this Bulletin.
The summer has for my part been spent on removing the floor in a living room because of moist with an unidentified origin. One of the Jazz events I had planned to visit (but had to restrict to read the program) was Norrtälje Jazz Festival and I do admire the organizers’ ability to engage all the orchestras and sponsors. Also the introduction material about the different orchestras was extensive and good.
DESS seeks cooperation with NJF and other jazz clubs and we hope that we can entice some of their members to come to our next club evening at Dukes Place on 27 September with two top orchestras Kenneth Arnström Swing Seven and an orchestra under the conduction by Rune Carlsson, with i.a. Bernt Rosengren.
For DESS
Jan Falk, chairman
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Chairman’s words
Last year I wrote about DESS’ long lasting
cooperation with SAMI and that we had baptized our club evenings to Duke’s
Place at the SAMI location. Some days before the November venue 23/11 2009
(with good music by Kustbandet) we received information from SAMI that they
had sold the property to their neighbor Franska Skolan (The French School).
Duke’s Place was suddenly without ”home” for the club evenings in spring
2010. I will not discuss all the phases and contacts that the Board
and above all Peter Lee have made and taken, but the result seems to be
good.
When this is written in the end of January 2010 Duke Ellington Society of
Sweden has reached an agreement with ABF and Restaurant ” Två Grabbar och
kök” (“Two lads and a kitchen”), who operates the restaurant at Gyllene
Cirkeln (The Golden Circle) that the jazz shall be reintroduced at the
Golden Circle. The start will take place with Duke’s Place at the Golden
Circle on 8 March 2010. We have also booked the next meeting on 3 May 20010.
If it works well and if you, our members, enjoy the place, then we will
continue on the Golden circle coming autumn.
The Golden Circle was a centre for jazz in the 1960’s and we, within the
Board of DESS, are proud to try to reintroduce jazz at the Golden Circle.
Moreover, the restaurant will serve food with some simpler courses and
possibly also some salad and a somewhat more expensive dish. We will try to
enclose the menu with the invitation to the venue, which invitation is
printed later than these ’Chairman’s words”.
There will be a full evening of music with three orchestras:
Kjell Fernström with i.a. Claes Brodda and Karl Olandersson
Swe-Dukes from Uppsala with i.a. Bosse
Broberg and Ulf Johansson Werre Trio.
We
have not yet determined if it shall be possible to purchase tickets in
advance – see the invitation to the Annual Meeting and the club evening. If
there are no advance ticket sales then it may be necessary for the members
to come to the Annual Meeting to be sure to get a seat. The Board has – as
is evident from the above – tried to arrange a good introduction and we have
to make extra marketing efforts to secure that the evening will have a
positive economical result.
The work with DESS CD continues according to plan – the music is selected
and the work that remains is arranging, pressing, designing the cover (the
text will be written by Bo Holmqvist) and printing and distribution. The
Board hopes to be able to include the CD to DESS Bulletin No. 2 2010 or
latest to the autumn Bulletin.
The Board hopes that this CD will be appreciated by the members and it will
include music by seven orchestras: Arne Domnerus, Lars Erstrand, Kustbandet,
Kennet Arnström, Kjell Fernström, The Swedish Jazz Kings and SaxSåMycke.
In the meantime - come to Duke’s Place on 8 March – as many as possible!
For DESS
Jan Falk, chairman
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"My People” was composed up front in a white Volvo Amazon Sport 1963
A three day job as Duke Ellington´s personal chauffeur during his tour of the Swedish Folkparks in 1963,turned into a monthlong tour around Sweden. Duke Ellington, then 64, and 21 year old Hans Löfgren from the capital of Stockholm, became good friends although the young driver from Stockholm hardly knew a word of English at the beginning of the trip. At the end of the stay in Sweden Duke asked Hans to come along to the USA and continue as his personal helper and driver.
But Hans didn´t dare to take the offer. He stayed in Sweden but met Duke and his orchestra each time they came to Sweden in all the coming years. He told the story of the greatest adventure of his life to the members of Duke Ellington Society of Sweden at a meeting on the first of October 2007.
The car was a white Volvo Amazon Sport and although the traffic in Sweden still honored left hand rule, the steering wheel was on the left side. Duke Ellington had the seat to the right beside the driver. The orchestra had about 30 concerts in one months time and the Folk parks (amusement parks with small tivolis and mostly an outdoor dancing floor) could be very far apart as the arrangers had to see to that they didn´t compete with each other and didn´t steal parts of the audiences from each other because of geographical and other circumstances.
Duke (and the orchestra which had a separate bus) therefore had to travel 300 kilometers or more almost every day with very little rest. The large orchestra was an expensive attraction for the Swedish Folkparks and had to attract big crowds.
But in spite of all the precautions and calculations things didn´t always come out right. In the town of Huskvarna in the middle of Sweden the orchestra only had an audience of 3oo people. This was in the evening of June 23, 1963. The night before the same amusement park had a public of about 6.000, but then the attraction was of a course a Swedish preacher, who draw crowds with his clowning, his rocking as well as his colourful preaching.
There was never any passengers allowed in the car except for three days when a lady called “The Contessa”, joined the company of Duke. Compare then with the orchestra bus: it had 18 musicians in the bus when it left Arlanda International Airport on the last of May, when the tour started.
When it was all over one month later there were still 18 musicians but also
24 females who had joined the gang for 3-4 days and then had been
substituted with others.
- Although some of these relations led to marriage and children, I decided
that I would never again let anyone else but the orchestra people travel on
the tour bus in the future, Hans Löfgren says.
Duke himself didn´t seem to care. But at another time (June 18, 1963) he took a personal active part in getting the tenor sax player Paul Gonsalves to hospital in Gothenburg. Gonsalves had spent the night to-gether with the Swedish jazz critic and musician Carl-Erik Lindgren. Gonsalves had taken an overdose of drugs, and was completely knocked out. According to Duke, Gonsalves had had serious problems with drugs that he had overcome. It was now all in ruins. Lindgren was from then on and forever forbidden to come near any member of the orchestra och even forbidden to stay in the audiences during performances.
This was to be the rule for all coming years when Duke
was in Sweden with the orchestra.
The many weeks that Gonsalves stayed at the Sahlgrenska hospital in
Gothenburg were payed for by Duke Ellington himself.
- All during that month of 1963 that DE spent time in my car, he was writing music (notes or lyrics) except when looking out for traffic cops. The roads were not always very good in those days och there were lots of speed limits, except on Saturday and Sunday when you made your own decisions and drove as fast as you could. Which we did as we were always in a hurry to the next orchestra stand, Hans Löfgren remembers.
In the right seat in the white Volvo Amazon that month
the show named “My People” was created, much of the church concerts and an
innumerable amount of “loose pieces”. “My People” ,is as as the titel says,
Duke´s homage to his own people, the race if you so want. In the small city
of Borlänge in Dalecarlia, he wrote among other things “King fit the battle
of Alabam” , dedicated to Martin Luther King and his fight for bettering the
conditions of Afro-Americans. Where ever Ellington stayed, there was a piano
in the hotel suite, as stipulated in his contract. Every night he called
Billy Strayhorn in the US och demonstrated what he had composed. Some times
he tested new things on me ( Löfgren) or wrote down the notes and
distributed the manuscripts among the orchestra members the next day. Then
they played as if they had tried it out many times before, but it was all
absolutely new and performed for the first time.
“The greatest experience of my life. A miraculous
new world opened up for me – and since than I´ve lived there.”
As told by Hans Löfgren to Bo Holmqvist, who wrote this summary.