Beyond category

by John Edward Hasse

"No one led a band like Duke Ellington, no one led a life like Duke Ellington, and no one wrote music like Duke Ellington: he was one of a kind, beyond category.". "One of the twentieth century's greatest artists, Ellington led a fascinating life. Despite this, there have been few major biographies and none that adequately assesses his musical achievement. This is the first biography to draw on the thousands of pages of scrapbooks, letters, business records, musical manuscripts, and photographs in the Duke Ellington archives at the Smithsonian Institution. In Beyond Category, John Edward Hasse has written a life story of great depth and beauty.". "Ellington was acclaimed in his lifetime as a bandleader, but Hasse explores the source of Duke's genius in his skill as a composer and musical "problem-solver." Unlike other great bandleaders, Ellington personally created most of the music played by his orchestra. With characteristic musical sensitivity, he wrote pieces that were designed for