![]() ![]() Ellington’s younger sister Ruth explained how the Ellington family’s social life reflected this sentiment: Washington’s black children were made aware of the violence and discrimination of the Jim Crow era, yet also were taught that skilled achievers would be recognized no matter their color. Social and political progress, according to the mindset of this community, would not occur through political agitation and protest, but by high achievement and radiating a sense of respectability. This marked a characteristic attitude of the black middle-class of turn-of-the-century Washington, D.C. CohenĮllington’s parents, James and Daisy, strictly maintained that all people were equal, and no race better than another. Highly recommended for general readers and jazz aficionados alike.”- Library JournalĪn excerpt from Duke Ellington's America by Harvey G. Along the way, he focuses on changes in the record industry and music technology and the progress in civil rights.… Cohen offers a fascinating, exhaustively researched social history of Duke Ellington’s world. The author first describes the racial mores of Washington, DC, at the turn of the last century.… Cohen covers Ellington’s postwar challenges, his return to fame, his State Department tours, the ‘sacred concerts,’ and his death in May 1974. “Cohen adds to the dozens of books about jazz great Duke Ellington with a new approach.… Cohen delivers a social history that firmly places the bandleader within his time.
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