Three recent lots in the virtual salesroom of eBay are testament to the highs and lows, as it were, of Ellington's career: the church and the nightclub.
He certainly did get around much.
Here are photographs of the ephemera with the respective descriptions by the vendors. For an item signed by Ellington, the sale price of the Trinity Cathedral programme at a little over £17 was a steal for some lucky bidder...
Vendor's description:
DUKE ELLINGTON and his Orchestra
present
A SACRED CONCERT
with
THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH HEINZ CHAPEL CHOIR
Tritinity Cathedral
October 10 and 11, 1968
Programme is signed and has few text remarks in Dutch language (like with Sonnet of the Apple: this was spoken by a 6 years old 'negro boy*' and he got an enormous applaus'
* i just translate here the nowadays unaccepted words
Programme is in VG condition and has 'golden imprint'
From the vendor...
Program for the ‘Cotton Club Parade, Fourth Edition’ held at the famous New York club in 1930’s, 8.75 x 11.75, signed on the front cover in pencil by Duke Ellington. In very good to fine condition.
Starting bid is a cool $780.00...
The final lot - again start the bidding at $780.00 - captures a real moment in time, including as it does a photograph of two of the patrons of the Zanzibar Club...
Harlem Renaissance - era 1940's Zanzibar Cafe jazz club memorabilia captures a moment in Harlem and jazz history. This club was opened after the famous Cotton Club was closed down and created a new policy allowing black audiences in. Famous for helping to desegregate entertainment New York, the club was also extremely popular during World War Two where Gi's would take dates. While the club itself was not in Harlem, many of the acts that played there had their roots in Harlem.
Up for sale is an archive you're unlikely to see again. Includes two programs featuring shows of the Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway orchestras. They were two of the biggest acts through the 1930's and 40's and must've been amazing to go see. The people who went to the shows made short notes on the corner of each program, which is a nice trace of the people that went on those nights.
This lot includes:
- Two club programs with a schedule of all the music acts playing that night
- An original black and white photo of two patrons at a table taken in the club with the original folder
- Two packs of matches - one with matches and one just the matchbook cover
"Cab Calloway spent some quality time at Zanzibar... entire months! Café Zanzibar, "Home of the Stars", was a Broadway theater that opened in 1943 with the aim of succeeding the prestigious Cotton Club which had recently closed. But Zanzibar brought one notable difference: the black audience was accepted there. This policy greatly contributed to its success both with orchestras and the public. The Hi De Ho Blog tells you everything he knows about the Café Zanzibar."
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