{"id":2577,"date":"2017-11-06T16:28:00","date_gmt":"2017-11-06T22:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/?p=2577"},"modified":"2017-11-06T16:30:48","modified_gmt":"2017-11-06T22:30:48","slug":"father-and-son","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/2017\/11\/06\/father-and-son\/","title":{"rendered":"Father and Son"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Mercer Ellington was the son of Duke Ellington. Mercer was born in Washington D.C. in 1919. It is fitting that Edward Kennedy Ellington had the nickname of “Duke,” (and for that matter perhaps Mercer should have been nicknamed the Earl) because their family became jazz royalty. Duke, a fantastic and prolific composer, brought a lot of attention from white audiences to the jazz community. Duke wrote an autobiography titled\u00a0Music is My Mistress<\/em>, and Stanley Dance also wrote a strong biography on Duke titled\u00a0The World of Duke Ellington.\u00a0<\/em>In 1979, Mercer Ellington wrote\u00a0Duke Ellington in Person: An Intimate\u00a0<\/em>Memoir<\/i> hoping to strike a balance between these two previous works on the Duke. Mercer said,<\/p>\n

I should like to think that [this biography] sheds light on the relationship between father and son, and in such a way that each person can be seen as the other’s alter ego.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I value Duke Ellington in Person<\/em> for the incredible insights it can give into the personal life that it can give on a figure steeped in a pre-written historical tradition.<\/p>\n

If you are unfamiliar with the works of Mercer, it is perhaps because he continued on the Duke Ellington Orchestra after Duke passed away. Duke Ellington’s name went onto a lot of Mercer’s works, but here are a few great tunes to check out:<\/p>\n\n\n