Jazz in July at the 92nd Street Y explores the music of Duke Ellington’s collaborator Wednesday, July 27, 2016 at 8pm with Bill Charlap.
Billy Strayhorn
“Take the A Train” is Strayhorn’s most famous composition, but his music is very much a part of Duke Ellington’s body of work. Strayhorn was something of an alter ego for Duke Ellington, America’s most prolific composer.
Ellington is reported to have said, “Billy Strayhorn was my right arm, my left arm, all the eyes in the back of my head, my brainwaves in his head, and his in mine.” That’s pretty much how they worked. They were two geniuses who somehow shared the same mind.
About Take the A Train: Billy Strayhorn at 100
Artistic Director Bill Charlap explores his connection with his pianist wife Rene Rosnes in the same way that Stayhorn and Ellington were connected. Carol Sloane takes on vocal duty. The front line is Jeremy Pelt on trumpet, Steve Wilson on alto sax, and Jimmy Greene on tenor sax. The rhythm section is Peter Washington on bass and Kenny Washington on drums.