Module 7 – Duke Ellington by: Andrea Davis Pinkney

PLOT:   Duke Ellington’s life is explained and talked about through this great picture book.  This book shows the way he was inspired to create music and eventually become one the best jazz musicians of his time.  He and several musicians create a band named the Washingtonians and travel throughout New York playing in different pubs.  As he gains followers and becomes popular he teams up with Billy Strayhorn, a musician who wrote music, and they write the most popular songs of all times.  Songs such as “Take the “A” Train” and “Black, Brown, and Beige” led him to be the greatest musicians of all times.  He and his band were one of the few African Americans that were invited to play at Carnegie Hall.  After this he was considered to be the “maestro” of jazz music.

Pinkney, A.D. (1998). Duke Ellington. New York: Hyperion Books for Children.

IMPRESSION OF THE BOOK:  I really enjoyed this book because I am a huge fan of jazz music.  Some of the older jazz, even if it’s just instrumental it tends to have a story behind it and when you here it you can feel the sentimental feelings in the music. This book was really cool to read because it described Duke as he was turned off by music and how he realized that he was meant to play music as he got older.  He realized he had a gift.  Many go their entire lives not knowing what their special gift is. The part I really like about this story is the way the author sets up the story and how Duke is just hanging out playing pool when he sparks an interest in the piano.  The way Duke begins putting the one-and- two-and-one-and-two tones to make his own ragtime music is so cool.  That is so a musician when they can come up with their own tunes and rhythm of playing. It’s very admirable that he forms an entire orchestra to create the most amazing music of all times.  He played with some of the best musicians such as Sonny Greer, Joe Nanton, Otto Hardwick, James Miley and many others.  These men were a great combination that made history through music. I also am inspired that African Americans became popular musicians during the hardest times of segregation and discrimination.  I really enjoy reading stories about inspirational figures that do not let anything stop them from achieving their dream. This book really solidifies that with hard work and determination your dreams can come true.

REVIEWS:  Kirkus Reviews starred 04/01/98

PLB 0-7868-2150-7 Addressing readers directly—“You ever heard of the jazz-playin’ man, the man with the cats who could swing with his band?”—the Pinkneys embark on a cool and vibrant tour of Duke Ellington’s musical career, from the pool hall ragtime that “set Duke’s fingers to wiggling,” to his 1943 Carnegie Hall concert, also giving some of the soloists that played with him, and songwriter Billy Strayhorn, a chance to step forward. Translated into color and visual forms, music floats and swirls through the scratchboard scenes, curling out of an antique radio, setting dancers to “cuttin’ the rug” at the elegant Cotton Club and, of course, trailing behind an “A” train. Like Chris Raschka’s solos, Charlie Parker Played Be-Bop (1992) and Mysterious Thelonius (1997), this loving tribute temptingly evokes the sound and spirit of a jazz pioneer. (Picture book/biography. 8-10)

Kirkus Review. (1998). [Review of the book Duke Ellington, by Anrea Davis Pinkney]. Kirkus Reviews Issue. Retrieved July 20, 2013, from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/andrea-davis-pinkney/duke-ellington-2/

USE IN THE LIBRARY: This book would be a great book for two lessons. The first lesson would be a book talk and an activity.  The activity I would do is to play some of Duke’s jazz music and then play some popular song of today and have them compare and contrast the music. The second lesson would be used as an introduction to a social studies lesson about the different types of mediums of art that existed during the Harlem Renaissance. These would include writers, poets, and artists.