The Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band just finished a mini-unit on Duke Ellington as part of our African-American music theme for the year (we've already studied Scott Joplin and William Grant Still). We learned about his career and why he was so important, listened to a few recordings, and then played short arrangements of "Sophisticated Lady" and "It Don't Mean a Thing." To wrap things up, here is a video of the Duke Ellington Orchestra in action. Note the great jazz vocals, reminding us that this was the pop music of the day. The violin solo is a bit of an anomaly; trumpeter Ray Nance doubled on fiddle, and Duke liked to feature him from time to time.
We're also studying the music of Leonard Bernstein this spring. SB is performing "America" from West Side Story, and WE is playing "Slava!" Here's a scary video of the latter, as performed by a Japanese middle school band. Note that they are playing from memory!
Here's the production number "America" as performed by Rita Moreno and the original movie cast. Ms. Moreno is famous for winning the Tony, Emmy, Grammy, and Oscar awards, one of the few artists to have won all four. She has had a very successful career on Broadway, in movies, and on television, including a stint in the cast of Sesame Street.
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