“Is the Duke deserting jazz?”

classicisation through improvisation in Diminuendo and crescendo in blue

Abstract

Since the beginning of Duke Ellington’s career as composer and leader of his own jazz orchestra in the 1920s, a common critical theme has been the comparison with European art music composers such as Delius and Debussy. Assertions such as Constant LAMBERT (1934) statement that Duke Ellington set a “standard by which we may judge …highbrow composers” focussed on the complex compositional devices in his output. Rather than restate these  offcited judgements of Ellington’s compositional style, this paper examines the intersection between the classical and jazz styles by analysing typically improvised sections of Ellington’s work. Consideration of the development of an improvised baritone saxophone solo on Diminuendo and crescendo in blue  indicates the establishment of fixed solos in the Ellington Orchestra’s repertoire. The degree of composition implied by this warrants further thought.