Black, Brown, and Beige
Encyclopedia
Black, Brown and Beige is a jazz
symphony
written by Duke Ellington
for his first concert at Carnegie Hall
, on January 23, 1943. Ellington introduced it at Carnegie Hall as "a tone parallel to the history of the Negro in America." It was Ellington's longest and most ambitious composition.
in his 1958 liner notes to a recording of a later version of the suite (Black, Brown and Beige, Columbia records). It received a preview performance at Rye High School in Westchester County, New York
, on January 22, 1943, its premiere at Carnegie Hall
the following night, and a subsequent performance at Boston
's Symphony Hall
on January 28. These are the only known performances of the complete work.
After these performances, Ellington only performed pieces of it. At the December 11, 1943 Carnegie Hall
concert, he said, "We thought we wouldn't play it (Black, Brown and Beige) in its entirety tonight because it represents an awfully long and important story and that I don't think too many people are familiar with the story. This is the one we dedicate to the 700 Negroes who came from Haiti to save Savannah during the Revolutionary War." The band then played West Indian Influence, the section to which Ellington referred. After that they play Lighter Attitude which is a reworking of Emancipation Celebration.
There are many recordings of the Ellington Orchestra playing selections from Black, Brown and Beige. One of the themes of "Beige", Sugar Hill Penthouse was recorded in the abridged 78 rpm record album of the piece. Several selections appear in the series of broadcasts they made for the Treasury Department in 1945 and 1946.
In the 1960s, Come Sunday and The Blues were part of Ellington's 1963 show, My People. This celebrated the 100th anniversary of The Emancipation Proclamation. Come Sunday and Light were part of A Concert of Sacred Music. Black was performed at the White House on June 14, 1965.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
symphony
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
written by Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
for his first concert at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, on January 23, 1943. Ellington introduced it at Carnegie Hall as "a tone parallel to the history of the Negro in America." It was Ellington's longest and most ambitious composition.
History
Known by Ellington as "B, B, & B" according to Irving TownsendIrving Townsend
Irving Townsend was an American record producer and author. He is most famous for having produced, in March 1959, the Miles Davis album Kind of Blue, which at #12, is the highest-ranked jazz album on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and according to the RIAA, is the best-selling...
in his 1958 liner notes to a recording of a later version of the suite (Black, Brown and Beige, Columbia records). It received a preview performance at Rye High School in Westchester County, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, on January 22, 1943, its premiere at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
the following night, and a subsequent performance at Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
's Symphony Hall
Symphony Hall
Symphony Hall usually refers to:* Symphony Hall, Boston, Massachusetts, USAIt may also refer to:Concert Halls* Allentown Symphony Hall in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA* Phoenix Symphony Hall in Phoenix, Arizona, USA...
on January 28. These are the only known performances of the complete work.
After these performances, Ellington only performed pieces of it. At the December 11, 1943 Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
concert, he said, "We thought we wouldn't play it (Black, Brown and Beige) in its entirety tonight because it represents an awfully long and important story and that I don't think too many people are familiar with the story. This is the one we dedicate to the 700 Negroes who came from Haiti to save Savannah during the Revolutionary War." The band then played West Indian Influence, the section to which Ellington referred. After that they play Lighter Attitude which is a reworking of Emancipation Celebration.
There are many recordings of the Ellington Orchestra playing selections from Black, Brown and Beige. One of the themes of "Beige", Sugar Hill Penthouse was recorded in the abridged 78 rpm record album of the piece. Several selections appear in the series of broadcasts they made for the Treasury Department in 1945 and 1946.
In the 1960s, Come Sunday and The Blues were part of Ellington's 1963 show, My People. This celebrated the 100th anniversary of The Emancipation Proclamation. Come Sunday and Light were part of A Concert of Sacred Music. Black was performed at the White House on June 14, 1965.
Musical Form and Characteristics
"Black," the first movement, is divided into three parts, the Work Song, the spiritual Come Sunday , and Light. "Brown" has three parts, West Indian Dance or Influence; Emancipation Celebration, and The Blues. "Beige" depicts "the Afro-American of the 1920's, 30's and World War II," wrote Leonard Feather in the liner notes of the 1977 release of the original 1943 performance.Recordings
- The Duke Ellington Carnegie Hall Concerts-January 1943 (a double CD on Prestige #2PCD-304004-2) - a recording of the January 23, 1943 Carnegie Hall premiere
Historical & Analytical Writings
- Burrows, George "Black, Brown and Beige and the politics of Signifyin(g): Towards a critical understanding of Duke Ellington." Jazz research journal, 1 (May 2007): 45-71 ISSN: 1753-8637
- Gaines, Kevin. "Duke Ellington, Black, Brown, and Beige, and the cultural politics of race" in Radano, Ronald Michael ed., Music and the racial imagination (Chicago,IL,USA : University of Chicago Press, 2000), 585-602.
- Tucker, Mark, ed. The Duke Ellington Reader (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1993), 153-204 reprints original 1943 journalistic coverage as well as later analytical articles. ISBN 0195054105
- Helen M. Oakley. "Ellington to Offer 'Tone Parallel'" repr. from Down Beat (15 January 1943), 13. Preview of the concert.
- Howard Taubman. "The 'Duke' Invades Carnegie Hall." repr. from New York Times Magazine (17 January 1943), 10, 30. Preview of the concert.
- Program for the first Carnegie Hall Concert repr. from the Duke Ellington Collection, Smithsonian.
- Paul Bowles. "Duke Ellington in Recital for Russian War Relief" repr. from New York Herald-Tribune (25 January 1943). Review of the concert.
- Mike Levin. "Duke Fuses Classical and Jazz!" repr. from Down Beat (15 February 1943), 12-13. Review of the concert.
- John Hammond. "Is the Duke Deserting Jazz?" repr. from Jazz 1/8 (May 1943), 15, accompanied by Leonard Feather's rebuttal in the same issue, pp. 14 & 20. Bob Thiele continued this discussion with "The Case of Jazz Music" in Jazz 1/9 (July 1943), 19-20.
- [Kurt List], review of abridged 1944 Victor recording in Listen 7/6 (April 1946), 13
- Robert D. Crowley. "Black, Brown and Beige after 16 Years" Jazz 2 (1959), 98-104.
- Brian Priestley and Alan Cohen. "Black, Brown & Beige." Composer 51 (Spring 1974), 33-37; 52 (Summer 1974), 29-32; 53 (Winter 1974-75), 29-32.
- Tucker, Mark, ed. Duke Ellington's Black, Brown and Beige, a complete commemorative 50th-anniversary issue of Black music research journal 13/2 (Fall, 1993) [ISSN: 0276-3605], with articles by:
- Mark Tucker, "The genesis of Black, Brown and Beige"
- Andrew Homzy, "Black, Brown and Beige in Duke Ellington's repertoire, 1943-1973"
- Kurt Dietrich, "The role of trombones in Black, Brown and Beige"
- Scott DeVeaux, "Black, Brown and Beige and the critics"
- Sief Hoefsmit & Andrew Homzy, "Chronology of Ellington's recordings and performances of Black, Brown and Beige"
- Maurice Peress, "My life with Black, Brown and Beige"
- Knauer, Wolfram. "Simulated improvisation in Duke Ellington's Black, Brown and Beige." The black perspective in music, 18 (1990): 20-38.
Discographies
Massagli, Luciano and Volonte, Giovanni. The New Desor: an updated edition of Duke Ellington's Story on Records, 1924-1974, Parts One and Two. 1999, Milan, Italy.External links
- "Black, Brown, and Beige" — Will Friedwald
- "Black, Brown, & Beige" — Richard Wang