Duke Ellington - Three Black Kings (1974)

[@Olivier-Jaquet]

One of the greatest composer of the 20th century, yet often neglected in the classical realm. Thank you for posting !

[@Cmaj7]

Yes definitely! Unfortunately the cult of sheet music doesn't stretch far beyond classical music, so there's a lot of music I would love to post but can't really. Especially, Miles Davis' Get Up with It I've gotten addicted to recently.

[@Dylonely_9274]

Who is the greatest for you ?

[@danyelnicholas]

I agree, yet it is precisely not his music written for regular orchestras but that written for the « Famous Orchestra » that I believe is underrated. When he wrote one note for Cootie or two for Bigard, with all those unique melanges of personal timbres, that was avant garde, the envy of Varèse or Stravinsky. In the orchestral music, however, there is too much stereotype, too much pretention and too much piled up sound in general. It is more akin to Stan Kenton than Ellington’s really progressive style.

[@Darrylizer1]

I've often thought that Frank Zappa and Duke Ellington had a lot in common. They both wrote in several different idioms, starting with popular music and moving on to orchestral and more experimental music that often combined several different forms. Both wrote for ensembles of various sizes. Both had band members that they specifically wrote for and many of their band members went on to create music of their own as leaders. Ellington was something more than a jazz musician and Zappa something more than a rock musician.

[@RiccardoDiPaola]

Always thought the same. Thank you for writing it down.

[@Scriabin_fan]

Amazing, I need to listen to more of Duke Ellington's orchestral music.

[@ziqizhu7364]

Ellington employed so many pop elements convincingly in his late career is something that I didn’t know I need

[@PhilippeBrun-qy3st]

Magique...Merci à vous .

[@Jimyblues]

Amazing, the minimalism of the opening, the beauty of the Melodies, great orchestral arraignment, cool solos-thanks

[@cywiringwlad]

What I love about this channel is the variety; it leads to so much discovery and expansion of my musical palette. 🙏🏽 Thanks for all the rabbit holes you've sent me down!

[@osutuba]

I did not know Duke Ellington wrote orchestral works! WOW!

[@bloba6969]

this is a vibe

[@AntifonaCello]

Stupendo

[@Dylonely_9274]

It’s a nice orchestral work from Ellington, I appreciate it.

[@elrichardo1337]

first learned of this work when i heard it at a concert by my university's orchestra last semester -- what an absolute gem

[@dac5224]

How did I not know that Duke Ellington wrote orchestral music?? Awesome!

[@Dylonely_9274]

I only knew a few about him too, but he seems to be a nice orchestrator.

[@damienm.9677]

Check out his ballet The River as well

[@Brad4Ellis]

Well, yes & no. He didn’t orchestrate this. It’s his composition, but this final form is shaped by Maurice Peress. Don’t expect to find a library of original Ellington converted so wonderfully to a mostly conventional symphony orchestra (plus traps & improvising soloists). As a matter of fact, very little about Ellington is conventional. His favorite complement to give was “beyond category,” and that certainly applies to the Duke himself. Definitely explore the less well-known realms of Ellington - you will be rewarded. But when looking for orchestral adaptations, be wary. Few are as Ellingtonian as this. Many are just repackaging of his popular tunes, without any of the rampant creativity that defines Duke Ellington.

[@dennyduranflores]

Absolutely incredible work. Never heard it before, but it’s so good!

[@WitchKing-Of-Angmar]

1:36 told me exactly when this was written, definitely those rich harmonic chords of the mid century era.

[@eottoe2001]

Oh, my! TY.

[@smidlem1117]

i love your transcription!!! thank you for uploading this, have been listening to a lot of feldman-esque classical recently so this was the refreshment i sorely needed!!! one thing i want to complement that not many others might is your always citing which recorded performance you use, which is something i really love!!! i catalogue all the music i listen to so it's really helpful to see it all cited so i can find which performance to add!!! keep on keeping on

[@dk-gj9dy]

Magnifico!!!!!

[@filmscorefreak]

I wonder if Danny Elfman was aware of the first movement of this piece when he did the score to Pee Wee's Big Adventure lol. Very much enjoyed this, thanks.

[@RiccardoDiPaola]

I definitely think he was aware

[@lele-pi1ys]

14:41 all city excerpt

[@mruberduck]

This deserves a better recording!!

[@56celtic89]

Its hard to describe the range of Ellington's music - though this is not nearly a perfect composition - it bursts of genius in places - Ellington's richest music is not his hit standards by a long shot.. Listen to 'Blues for New Orleans' which to me foreshadows a whole genre of music - and he probably composed it in a day - Unbelievable Talent....

[@steveegallo3384]

@56celtic89 -- Indeed! BRAVO from Acapulco!

[@bariscanbilgin]

👌🏻💞

[@GumzOnTheTrack]

Can you do Frank Martin's concerto for 7 winds please?

[@PM_ME_MESSIAEN_PICS]

the score video is out

[@alonsoordonez6407]

was it originally for piano? I see somebody else orchestrated it

[@AndromedaCripps]

I was enchanted by the first two kings, but found the third movement lacking in the drive necessary for a climax of a piece. I liked the concept of a gospel March, combining King’s physical marches for freedom with the gospel ad spiritual music from his background as a Reverend which propelled him to do all he did, but the execution of the idea fell short for me, which was disappointing after the first two movements!! I think to pinpoint exactly what it was for me, it was that it, in a way, felt almost too genuine, like a Disney movie or sonething… but that could just be a product of the times. Perhaps if I was a product of the 60’s and 70’s and heard this at the premiere, in that context, it might have been a moving tribute to a moving man. If that is the case though, it sadly didn’t hold up to the rest of time.

[@andrewmciver6218]

Are my ears going crazy or is that rhythm at the downbeat of Martin Luther King is just being played differently? Either the notes or the players are wrong somehow

[@buckeyewill2166]

Still like that Gospel bite to this piece.

[@andrewmciver6218]

Agreed, it's great! @@buckeyewill2166

[@andrewmciver6218]

@@buckeyewill2166 But to clarify I meant the third note of that bar, sorry! The way I'm hearing it it should be syncopated as well.

[@LucTaMusic]

The rhythm is different, and it's played on a soprano sax rather than a tenor. Still great though

[@Arlyn-s9c]

I would have added the poster to my cool list...then an ad poped up in the middle. Sorry you get a thumbs down for that. But enjoy your 1/4 of a penny.

[@Cmaj7]

Sorry I can't control ads. I don't make any money off this

[@pauliebourdal8272]

'Promo sm'

[@TempodiPiano]

this music is so unpleasant... it sounds like music for "joyful" movies. sorry for not supporting (but I like your other videos)

[@alantheisen]

It sounds joyful therefore it's unpleasant? What a sad assessment.

[@videonery4555]

fix the hate in your heart

[@thegoodgeneral]

@@videonery4555 it’s not to his taste, doesn’t mean he has hate in his heart.

[@klop4228]

@@thegoodgeneral I mean, if we understood the logic of "joyful=bad", I think there may be a case for some hate in the heart lol But yeah, there's not much a person can do about taste

[@cman-bw5tn]

Boo

[@coreylapinas1000]

Disjointed garbage

[@excuseyou7198]

Wow, this sounds really cool.