Cuttings Contest Too

Bizarrely - if not frighteningly so - the first time I used the title Cuttings Contest for a post was an amazing ten years ago and, by some strange synchronism, a decade almost to the day. That post may be found here.

Here is its somewhat delayed sequel - a miscellany of clippings, photographs and memorabilia all of which have been for sale at virtual auction recently. When time allows (and given how quickly the last ten years have gone), I'm not sure it will - it would be a rewarding business tracing the provenance of these various souvenirs and the events which occasioned them. For now, here is the gallery...

 

The Jazz Syndicate (University of North Texas)

 

Clips of multiple interviews with Duke Ellington from various dates and locations. The first segment is described as "transcribed presentation of the western division of Radio Newsreel," likely conducted by Doug Hatton at Casa Mañana in Los Angeles on January 28, 1941 and also described by Lewis Porter in a November 13, 2024 Substack posting. The second segment features Ellington narrating a story which may be connected to his unfinished opera, Queenie Pie. Segments of this are fast-forwarded or rewound on the tape, and at least one is recoverable at normal speed. Another interview follows, in which Ellington discusses Jack and Hy Yellen, noted to be from the interviewer's hometown of Buffalo, New York (this interviewer is not Willis Conover). Also present for this interview is Fats Waller's manager, Ed Kirkeby. After a brief silence, another interview begins at 22:19, in which the interviewer is likely Willis Conover. Details of this interview (the end of 1952 being "a few weeks ago") fit with Ellington's appearance at the Hilltop in Capitol Heights, Maryland, in early March of 1953. The next interview begins at 40:21, and includes Billy Strayhorn speaking, and singing and playing Lush Life at the piano (at 45:55). Smaller segments follow, including an additional segment with Strayhorn.

Clips of two interviews with Duke Ellington from the Ellington collection at the Smithsonian Institution. The interview is undated, but labeled as being from the late 1960s or early 1970s. Ellington answers a question about whether some works are more important to him and discusses his longevity, experience and perseverance, the meaning of Black, Brown and Beige, segregation in the South, and an experience in the previous year of being refused service in Illinois.

A brief interview with Duke Ellington, with an introduction and explanation in Swedish. Ellington discusses how the scale or size of a work does not dictate its importance to him, whether any works are more important to him than others, the importance of staying on the job over time; in another clip, he discusses his Black, Brown & Beige suite, racial dynamics he has observed, and a time he faced discrimination while touring on Route 66 in Illinois.

Chilling With Carney

 

Hip Chic

A photo shoot, conducted by Gosta Peterson, was published in Look magazine in April 1968. Prints  from the shoot, published under the title Hip Chic - fashion with Duke Ellington were put up for sale recently on a certain auction website. Here is the collection...