Open Letter to Duke

Shafi Hadi (alto sax), Booker Ervin (tenor sax), Willie Dennis (trombone), Horace Parlan (piano), Charles Mingus (bass) and Dannie Richmond (drums). From the album Mingus Ah Um (1959).

This track is dedicated to Duke Ellington, who was a pianist and the most important composer in the history of jazz, as well as the leader of a big band he held for almost 50 years. The two aspects of his career were related. Ellington used his band as a musical laboratory for his new compositions and wrote specifically to demonstrate the talent of each of the members of his big band, many of whom remained with him for many years. Ellington also wrote soundtracks for films and musicals, and some of his compositions became standards.

Besides being always touring, he recorded extensively, resulting in a huge work. In 1923 he moved with the Washingtonians to New York and began recording a year later. The group got bigger and Ellington took over the leadership. In 1927 they moved to The Cotton Club, making Ellington famous for the radio programs that were broadcast from the dance hall. The Ellington’s big band left The Cotton Club in 1931 for a tour that, in a sense, didn’t end until his death 43 years later.

Hadi begins to play and the other members of the group join him. The composition is quick and Hadi is not intimidated. Then Ervin appears making a solo full of creativity and unexpected changes, and Richmond makes some drumrolls to give way for the band playing at a fast pace. Suddenly, the fireworks stop and the wind section performs a rather dark passage with its members playing different melodies. The fast pace rhythm returns with the winds exchanging phrases until the piano introduces a new arrangement with which they finish the theme.