On the Scene on WZUM - we salute Duke Ellington at the start of April, Jazz Appreciation Month.
When the Smithsonian helped set up Jazz Appreciation Month two decades ago, April made sense – Duke’s April 29th birthday, his importance to jazz and, also, because it is a big birthday month for a legion of other jazz greats in history and many still performing, today:
Dr Billy Taylor, April 3rd; Pittsburgh’s Stanley Turrentine April 5th; Gerry Mulligan, April 6th; Billie Holiday, April 7th; Carmen McRae, April 8th; Herbie Hancock, April 12th; Gene Ammons, April 14th; Herbie Mann April 16th; Lionel Hampton, April 20th; Jeanette’s Slide Hamilton, April 21st; Tommy Turrentine, Paul Chambers and Charles Mingus, April 22nd; Ella Fitzgerald, April 25th; and Duke Ellington, April 29th.
We celebrate Duke Ellington on this program – and especially share the story of Duke Ellington on a special event in honor of his 70th birthday. A star-studded, unusual and amazing event at the White House during the first year of the presidency of Richard Nixon, 1969, where Maestro Ellington was also awarded the Medal of Freedom.
The whole event was from the impetus of White House attorney, saxophonist and one-time Woody Herman band member, Leonard Garment - who later was involved in the defense of Nixon during Watergate.
But this was in April of 1969 - early in President Nixon’s first term. While the event was considered a bit controversial, the opportunity to honor Washington DC Native Duke Ellington was too big to pass up.
The Voice of America's Willis Conover organized the band and performers for the occasion, which included Bill Berry, Clark Terry, J.J. Johnson, Urbie Green, Paul Desmond, Gerry Mulligan, Jim Hall, Billy Taylor, Hank Jones, Dave Brubeck, Earl Hines, Milt Hinton, Louie Bellson, Joe Williams and Mary Mayo. Ellington himself performed an original called "Pat," in honor of the President's wife.
The Voice of America recorded and broadcast the concert - OVERSEAS - within a week of the event. But we almost never got to hear the event in the states - until attorney and saxophonist Leonard Garment managed to convince his old friend, guitarist Jim Hall, to sign a release to allow the concert to become a 2002 Blue Note Records Release. In an interview with NPR’s Bob Edwards and Garment in 2002, Jim Hall said that young pianist Bill Charlap told him “when you’re gone, they’re going to release it, anyway..” that he might as well contribute to jazz history.