Duke Ellington: A Spiritual Biography

I picked this book up after reading Joan of Arc in this Lives and Legacies Series. This new book delivers everything it promises. I'm a real biography nut with an interest in a very broad range of subjects (and that's just what this series delivers) but have little time to immerse myself in a 500 or 700 page reading. So it's great to be able to pick up these short biographies, get a great read, and then decide if I want to explore a subject in further depth. But I can tell you with both these books, short as they are (192 pages), they are still very in-depth, scholarly and but still accessible to the popular audience. Duke Ellington was a particular pleasure as I knew nothing about his Sacred music and Concerts, nor have I run across anything that examines so fully the films that him and his orchestra were featured in, and which by the way Ellington had a significant role in developing. Author Janna Steed offers up a terrific little gem with this new book on Duke Ellington.

I just recently joined a book discussion group and last night, during my first meeting we were discussing Janna Tull Steed's new book "Duke Ellington: A Spiritual Biography." In just 192 pages Steed traces Ellington's development from a piano player to bandleader to composer and his truly thrilling and sublime sacred concerts in the last decade of his life. Steed also discusses in depth Ellington's ability to write for the individual voice, or band member, which seems to be, at least partly, what made and marks him as such an extraordinary and perhaps greatest American composer--that and his overwelming dedication to his music and a relentless ability to constantly break new ground. Steed's grasp of Ellington and his music, particularly Ellington as a composer is tops. She draws on the enormous archives at the Smithsonian Institution but also on extensive firsthand interviews with scores of people who were intimately familiar with Duke Ellington and his music, and especially his development of his sacred music and concerts. It is in the area of the sacred concerts that Steed breaks new ground but also her focus of Ellinton as composer, as well as his oft forgotten important work in Hollywood. Her outstanding achievment is that she accomplished this in 192 pages. Steed covers the entire scope of Ellington's remarkable life and career and her insights are very welcome and as engaging as they are informative.

Despite the author being a minister and this being a "spiritual biography," there is no beating of the religious drum here (thank God, for that was my fear, inspite of the fact that I was interested and intrigued in the idea of a "spiritual biography.) Nor is there any Pollyanna-ish writing. I agree with other reviewers in that Steed makes an astounding and perfectly convincing case for Duke Ellington's spirituality and its presense in and influence on his music. Her breezy yet scholarly approach is direct and simple and this biography makes an interesting addition to the still ever growing (and glutted) literature on Ellington. Adding to the book's appeal are the several side bars--a couple involve interesting profiles, and a couple others and of particular interest, are a close look at the several films featuring Ellington and his orchestra and Ellington's role in shaping these films. The book is always engaging, well-crafted and original. "Duke Ellington: A Spiritual Biography" should find a very wide audience and is a welcome primer for those new to Ellington, and regardless of spiritual inclination.

Although the book traces all the larger well-known facts of Ellington's life (which any biography must, necessarily, do), the author offers many new and original insights, which makes this book well worth the buy and read. Duke Ellington's music and life would seem to imply that historical stylistic boundaries can be breached--that music, in effect, ought to aspire to a place beyond style, or to use the words which Duke used to describe himself-- "beyond category." Steed's treatment of Ellington as a complex--and spiritual man is compelling--and without every sounding preachy, and without romanicization, despite the author's clear sympathy with her subject. Steed's careful and extensive research and colorful storytelling result in an impressive and dynamic new side of this great man of jazz. The author's prose style is down-to-earth as she offers readers an intriguing glimpse behind Ellington's long-maintained veil of privacy and public mask. Steed does not exploit Ellington's more gossipy or sensational story (though nor does she deny it), but instead, she deftly weaves her story of Duke's spirituality into a detailed, respectful and ultimately fuller and truer portrait. Steed delivers a far more poignant account than the scores of other biographies on the Duke. I especially and highly recommend this book for new initiates to this great king of Jazz.

This is an elegant and wonderfully accessible portrait of a seemingly nonreligious man with a compelling sense of spirituality. We get here an amazing & very surprisingly new side of the Duke, one I think few people are familiar with or aware of. When there is such a huge volume of works out there on the Duke, as a general reader with an amatuer's interest in Duke Ellington, it's hard to know where to begin. So it was a huge relief to find this little gem by such a gifted scholar and talented writer. The narrative is informative and holds your interest from beginning to end. The author's knowledge & impressions are impressive and her case for the connection between Ellington's music and his spirituality are wholly convincing. With vivid and recent interviews, and a strong, lively narrative the author draws the reader into the passions and ideals, and the all too humanly conflicted dreams, and profound spirituality of this great man. I simply cannot imagine a more effective or compelling introduction to The Maestro.