I don't know where they keep finding these rare videos - salted away in private collections, I presume. Thank goodness they are uploaded to Youtube for all of us to enjoy.
The following video is dubbed entirely into Italian but nevertheless gives a fascinating insight into the life of Ellington. Filmed in 1966, mere months before his untimely death, there are particularly poignant glimpses of arranging and composing companion Billy Strayhorn.
Thank you so much for this wonderful video! This is not from a private collection... Rai Storia is a channel of the Italian State Radio and Television that broadcasts old videos from the State TV archive.
ReplyDeleteHere Duke -from other things- speaks about "The Golden Broom and The Green Apple", "Such Sweet Thunder", "The Queen Pie" and musicians as Bechet, Gillespie, Mingus, Roach, Sinatra and others. Of course he speaks also about his music life and his own way to feel music composition and improvisation.
It's a very interesting tv documentary. If you are interested in it, I could translate full interview to English
A full translation in English would be very welcome - and I should certainly publish it here. Thank you very much indeed. I wonder what other Ducal treasures the Rai Storia archive holds? Thank again for your comment!
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting. Amazing to see Duke lying in bed, hanging out in the kitchen, and drinking the famous hot water.
ReplyDeleteYour blog alas causes memory use to skyrocket on my Mac. 1.5 GB in Safari, about 700 MB in Chrome and rising. Could it be the playlists?
You may be right, Michael. I have removed these Spotify lists now. perhaps in the new year I will write about some of these recordings on a track-by-track basis an ration the riches!
ReplyDeleteThat must be it: the memory use is *way* down now.
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