Those with a basic knowledge of jazz history know the story of Billy Strayhorn: he was Duke Ellington's humble sidekick, a brilliant composer who stood in the famous band leader's shadow for 30 years and whose real contribution to the musical form was not recognized until years after his death in 1967. And while Strayhorn's life was justly chronicled in David Hajdu's 1996 biography Lush Life, this study of the composer takes a closer look at the musician's work. Van de Leur posits that Strayhorn was not merely Ellington's alter ego but a distinctly different composer who had a direct influence on Ellington's music, changing the way it—and, in turn, jazz in general—was received by both critics and the general public. Weeding through over 3,000 pieces of original scores, van de Leur, an independent jazz researcher and artistic co-leader of the Dutch Jazz Orchestra, clearly delineates which elements in songs like Take the "A" Train
and I Got It Bad
were Ellington's and which were Strayhorn's. According to van de Leur, the two shared some qualities: an attraction to orchestral sonority, harmonic richness and formal balance. But Strayhorn's compositions were more complex, featuring intricate choruses and detailed chromaticisms. Van de Leur academically addresses the Billy Strayhorn debate (was he an independent composer or a mere apprentice and assistant?), stretching his dissection of songs over more than 10 chapters. Though by no means an exposé meant to decry Ellington, nor a close look at Strayhorn himself, this scholarly evaluation of Strayhorn's compositions still manages to pay homage to the visionary force behind some of the 20th century's greatest music. Illus. (Jan.)
