About the Author

Mark Tucker, author of Ellington: The Early Years, was Associate Professor of Music at Columbia University when this book first appeared. He died in 2000 (at age forty-six) and had begun work on a book about Thelonious Monk.

Reviews

"Tucker has done for Ellington what Arthur Mendel did for Bach. This is a superb reader."--American Music
"This collection includes praise, criticism and even some of Ellington's own words. It is full of excellent writing."--The New York Times Book Review
"Tucker has done for Ellington what Arthur Mendel did for Bach. This is a superb reader."--American Music
"An anthology of interviews, essays, and reviews covering the widest possible range of writing on and by Ellington...it is astonishingly good value and is a 'must buy' for Ellington fans."--Vintage Jazz Mart
"This collection includes praise, criticism and even some of Ellington's own words. It is full of excellent writing."--The New York Times Book Review
"This anthology further confirms [Ellington's] permanency in the American cultural pantheon. It aims to include the most important articles ever written about Ellington and his greatest musicians, including some of Ellington's own writings, analyses of scores, interviews, and pieces of historical interest....Other essays fascinatingly show the evolution of critical views of American popular music....Another development made apparent is the change in attitudes
towards Ellington's accomplishments as racial attitudes changed."--Booklist
"Draws upon the Ellington archives at the Smithsonian, as well as previously unknown family papers, to present a rich portrait of Ellington's life. Hasse also suggests essential selections from the more than 400 Ellington CDs now available. Tucker's Reader brings together more than 100 of the best interviews, reviews, and essays about Ellington (including 12 pieces by Duke himself) in an extraordinary volume for fans and scholars
alike."--Playboy
"This first historical anthology of writings about Ellington's life and music, ably edited by Columbia University music professor Tucker, is a treasure chest of some 100 essays and remembrances by such authors as Ralph Ellison, Gunther Schuller, Stanley Crouch, Nat Hentoff, Albert Murray and Stanley Dance."--Publishers Weekly
"Tucker has put together a tome that makes it finally possible for the general reader to get a comprehensive grasp of many of the essentials of Ellington as a person, musician, bandleader, and philosopher of music. Ranging from Ellington's earliest and formative years as a musician to his latest years on the American musical scene, these 101 essays offer critical insights into Ellington's musical and social thought and into the developing thought of others
about Ellington's musical output and position in American musical culture. The essays about his sidemen shed light not only on their particular roles in the Ellington musical mix, but also even on the
Ellington brilliance and mystique. This book is 'must' reading for all who would have a broad and fundamental understanding of music in, of, and about the United States."--Samuel A. Floyd, Jr., Director, Center for Black Music Research
"The Duke Ellington Reader is a wonderful compilation of ideas and information, and it is very well organized and edited. A must for anyone seriously interested in twentieth-century music, The Duke Ellington Reader is an important book which contains many unique and insightful perspectives on the creativity of Ellington, including Ellington's own. Mark Tucker has given us an invaluable look into that enormous and uniquely creative world of one
of the true geniuses of the twentieth century."--Kenny Burrell, composer and jazz recording artist
"Here is a book, authoritatively edited by Mark Tucker, that deserves to be in the library of all lovers of Ellington and his music, jazz, or American culture in the twentieth century. Many of these pieces, astutely chosen by Tucker, are absolute gems of musical criticism or social observation, and the entire book amounts to a rich treasury that immeasurably expands our understanding of one of America's authentic national treasures, Duke Ellington."--Arnold
Rampersad, author of Art and Imagination of W. E. B. Du Bois
"The depth and breadth of this collection of writings is truly amazing. Some of the pieces in this collection (which includes interviews, previews, reviews, critiques, reminiscences etc.) will make you laugh; some will touch your heart; some will challenge your Ellington images and yet others will make you mad as hell. Whichever the case, you will find it extremely difficult to put this book down once you have begun reading it. The Duke Ellington
Reader is an absoloute must for anyone even remotely interested in Ellington specifically and in jazz and American music in general."--David N. Baker, author of New Perspectives on Jazz

YA-A wonderfully comprehensive volume devoted to the music of Duke Ellington. Tucker includes over 100 articles, interviews, critical essays, reviews, memoirs, plus over a dozen of Ellington's own writings. The authors of these selections include jazz critics such as Nat Hentoff, Stanley and Helen Dance, and Martin Williams, to name a few. Examples of Ellington's musical scores are interspersed throughout this marvelous anthology. With a few exceptions, the arrangement is chronological from 1917 when Duke first played professionally to 1974 when he died. The focus here is on the genius of his music within the context of the American social scene. A worthwhile addition to any library.-Pat Royal, Crossland High School, Camp Springs, MD

This reader, compiled by Ellington expert Tucker, consists of 100 pieces about and by the bandleader, composer, and pianist. It includes mostly never-before-reprinted interviews, essays, reviews, and memoirs by such noted jazz writers as Whitney Balliett, Nat Hentoff, and Leonard Feather, along with useful introductions by the editor. Starting with the Duke's early years, the book covers in-depth the Cotton Club years (1927-32), Ellington's 1933 trip to Europe, the Swing era, and the seminal work, Black, Brown and Beige (1943). It continues by tracing the postwar critical acceptance of Ellington and the subsequent acclaim during the next four decades. The reader ends with more than a dozen reprints about Ellington band members. Fascinating and comprehensive, this account is recommended for music collections.-- David Szatmary, Univ. of Washington, Seattle

"Tucker has done for Ellington what Arthur Mendel did for Bach. This is a superb reader."--American Music "This collection includes praise, criticism and even some of Ellington's own words. It is full of excellent writing."--The New York Times Book Review "Tucker has done for Ellington what Arthur Mendel did for Bach. This is a superb reader."--American Music "An anthology of interviews, essays, and reviews covering the widest possible range of writing on and by Ellington...it is astonishingly good value and is a 'must buy' for Ellington fans."--Vintage Jazz Mart "This collection includes praise, criticism and even some of Ellington's own words. It is full of excellent writing."--The New York Times Book Review "This anthology further confirms [Ellington's] permanency in the American cultural pantheon. It aims to include the most important articles ever written about Ellington and his greatest musicians, including some of Ellington's own writings, analyses of scores, interviews, and pieces of historical interest....Other essays fascinatingly show the evolution of critical views of American popular music....Another development made apparent is the change in attitudes towards Ellington's accomplishments as racial attitudes changed."--Booklist "Draws upon the Ellington archives at the Smithsonian, as well as previously unknown family papers, to present a rich portrait of Ellington's life. Hasse also suggests essential selections from the more than 400 Ellington CDs now available. Tucker's Reader brings together more than 100 of the best interviews, reviews, and essays about Ellington (including 12 pieces by Duke himself) in an extraordinary volume for fans and scholars alike."--Playboy "This first historical anthology of writings about Ellington's life and music, ably edited by Columbia University music professor Tucker, is a treasure chest of some 100 essays and remembrances by such authors as Ralph Ellison, Gunther Schuller, Stanley Crouch, Nat Hentoff, Albert Murray and Stanley Dance."--Publishers Weekly "Tucker has put together a tome that makes it finally possible for the general reader to get a comprehensive grasp of many of the essentials of Ellington as a person, musician, bandleader, and philosopher of music. Ranging from Ellington's earliest and formative years as a musician to his latest years on the American musical scene, these 101 essays offer critical insights into Ellington's musical and social thought and into the developing thought of others about Ellington's musical output and position in American musical culture. The essays about his sidemen shed light not only on their particular roles in the Ellington musical mix, but also even on the Ellington brilliance and mystique. This book is 'must' reading for all who would have a broad and fundamental understanding of music in, of, and about the United States."--Samuel A. Floyd, Jr., Director, Center for Black Music Research "The Duke Ellington Reader is a wonderful compilation of ideas and information, and it is very well organized and edited. A must for anyone seriously interested in twentieth-century music, The Duke Ellington Reader is an important book which contains many unique and insightful perspectives on the creativity of Ellington, including Ellington's own. Mark Tucker has given us an invaluable look into that enormous and uniquely creative world of one of the true geniuses of the twentieth century."--Kenny Burrell, composer and jazz recording artist "Here is a book, authoritatively edited by Mark Tucker, that deserves to be in the library of all lovers of Ellington and his music, jazz, or American culture in the twentieth century. Many of these pieces, astutely chosen by Tucker, are absolute gems of musical criticism or social observation, and the entire book amounts to a rich treasury that immeasurably expands our understanding of one of America's authentic national treasures, Duke Ellington."--Arnold Rampersad, author of Art and Imagination of W. E. B. Du Bois "The depth and breadth of this collection of writings is truly amazing. Some of the pieces in this collection (which includes interviews, previews, reviews, critiques, reminiscences etc.) will make you laugh; some will touch your heart; some will challenge your Ellington images and yet others will make you mad as hell. Whichever the case, you will find it extremely difficult to put this book down once you have begun reading it. The Duke Ellington Reader is an absoloute must for anyone even remotely interested in Ellington specifically and in jazz and American music in general."--David N. Baker, author of New Perspectives on Jazz