by Carl Settles

It is very difficult to understand how quickly the world is changing around us. We wish to see things clearly but they are often murky at best. Only time can tell what parts of our collective history will endure. I am certain that the music of Duke Ellington will live on. He is the true pioneer of the big band. His orchestration and recording techniques have become the standard and his over 2000 published works, ranging from musicals, jungle music, indigos, sacred works, to plain ol' blues make him America's most prolific composer. Charlie Parker, Thelonius Monk and Charles Mingus are a few of the artists that have shown profound signs of his influence.

Lesser known is that Duke Ellington was also a master painter and his eloquent words reflected a profound pride in this family and cultural heritage. He came of age during the Harlem Renaissance and continued, for the better part of the century, as America's quintessential ambassador of jazz. He also synthesized new elements into his music, as in his "Latin American Suite," "Afro-Eurasian Eclipse," or the "Black, Brown and Beige" extended works. Duke tailored his arrangements to the people around him and they always seemed to do their best work in his ensemble. Sidney Bechet, Johnny Hodges, Cootie Williams, Paul Gonzales and Juan Tyzol immediately spring to mind.

Now that I'm a professional musician and an educator, all of these things amaze me. I would be thankful to compose just 200 reputable works. How is it that Duke and his counterparts of the Harlem Renaissance achieved so much cultural and economic prosperity at a time when others were consciously conspiring to prevent them form doing so? Jazz, then known as slang for a sexual act, was looked down upon by most people. Duke and others rejected the name, instead calling it the "music of black folk." They made a point of acknowledging their roots, The blues was the starting place. Them sad, funny, low down blues that evolved out of the field hollers of African slaves, permeated throughout Duke's era and continue to affect the way we play and listen to music today.

Most of today's players and listeners of the blues however, are not black. Oddly, right about the time of integration and the Motown Sound, African Americans were looking forward to a new era of no mo' blues. We were more sophisticated. With the discover of the blues by rock and rollers like the Rolling Stones, some of us wanted to maintain our own "truly black" identity. In fact, I believe that each new American musical movement has been a reaction against what some African-Americans have viewed as a co-opting of their culture and style.

Along side all of these permutations, Duke Ellington endured. He, being different from jazz greats like Louis Armstrong, enjoyed the music of and played with Be-Boppers such as Mingus and Parker. He had the vision to understand that what they were doing was rebellious but also pushing the limits of musical expression. If you were truly happening on your instrument (no matter what color) you gained membership to an exclusive club in which the blues was the common denominator. It allowed them to find their own voice and stay rooted in the American Tradition.

The Hip-Hop generation is the cultural equivalent to the Be-Bop movement of the 50s. Just as Be-Boppers took popular swing tunes, sped them up and wrote new melodies to separate their style from the "square" musical establishment, sampling does essentially the same thing. Strains of older soul and funk tunes permeate throughout the music of Snoop Doggy Dogg, Coolio and the Fugees. Some have even incorporated knowledge of older jazz legends. The premiere release of Digable Planets' Rebirth of the Slick is a take off of Miles Davis' Birth of the Cool album. I'm not saying I dig everything I hear, but there is a lot of good stuff being overlooked. It's sad to me because I believe the ongoing merger between the Hip-Hop & Jazz sensibilities is the next true step in American music culture. If we look at its history this becomes more evident. The first rappers in the United States evolved around the same time as the 19th century country blues. Then, newly transported African slaves were allowed to have an occasional "hoe-down" or square dance in which they would stop working in the fields and have a celebration. They played European instruments such as the fiddle and the African derived banjo and there the first calls were made to "swing your partner round and round." Throughout this century, black radio DJs have rapped to their audiences. James Brown talked and grunted in rhythm. During the '70s, with interest in live music dwindling in those communities, young people of color used their turntables and a microphone to create yet another medium for expression.

Hip-Hop is not an aberration but a logical extension of the American tradition. It is only missing the proper context to truly take hold and grow.

This month the Blue Jazz Workshop presents a special performance of "Kids, Clarksville and Duke" at the Victory Grill (1104 East 11th) on June 9th at 8pm. As the opening event of the 8th Annual Clarksville Jazz Fest, the event combines student and professional performances in an exploration of the African Diaspora using the words and music of Duke Ellington.

Mendez Middle School students will perform episodes of "Kid Orpheus & the Revolution" as he searches around the world for a cure from the Bluez. Some of Austin's premiere jazz musicians play new mini-big band arrangements of Duke Ellington's music. Featured arrangers and performers include Carl Settles, Edwin Livingston, Elias Haslanger, Martin Banks, J.W. Davis, Freddie Mendoza and, introducing young actor extraordinaire, Jason Robinson.

As we begin to understand more of our past, we will in turn look forward to a more culturally prosperous future. Now's the time for the Revolution!