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ClarkThe Autobiography of Clark Terry$
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Clark: The Autobiography of Clark Terry

Clark Terry and Gwen Terry

Print publication date: 2011

Print ISBN-13: 9780520268463

Published to California Scholarship Online: May 2012

DOI: 10.1525/california/9780520268463.001.0001

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PRINTED FROM CALIFORNIA SCHOLARSHIP ONLINE (www.california.universitypressscholarship.com). (c) Copyright University of California Press, 2020. All Rights Reserved. An individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a monograph in CALSO for personal use.date: 28 February 2020

Duke's Team

Duke's Team

Chapter:
31. Duke's Team
Source:
Clark
Author(s):

Gwen Terry

Publisher:
University of California Press
DOI:10.1525/california/9780520268463.003.0031

As Clark describes, Duke Ellington had an outstanding roster of professionals in his orchestra team. While recruiting musicians, Duke kept a certain criteria in his mind, the signature sound of each individual; how they blended; and how they interpreted his arrangements. It was like a choir of masterful voices. He wrote something unique for each member of the ensemble. He knew exactly what everybody could do and what they couldn't do and used characteristic sounds. He gave freedom to everyone to express themselves and each member of the band got a chance to play solos. He encouraged individual freedom and compiled ideas. He used things that were seemingly insignificant and made beautiful tunes. He got results that were not just out of his head, but also what was in his musicians' heads. Duke was a true artist.

Keywords:   Duke Ellington, orchestra, choir, masterful voices, band, true artist

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