              |
 |
 March 2007 Back to Table of Contents Back to Archives Main Page Section: Arts & Letters Sins of Omission By Ron Ehmke My home library contains more than a few books on the history of popular music over the last hundred years or so, and as background for this review I thought I’d scour them for references to composer/arranger/pianist Billy Strayhorn (1915-67). To my surprise, I found next to nothing.
That dire situation began to change in 1997 with the publication of Lush Life, David Hajdu’s highly regarded biography of Strayhorn, calling attention to the man’s music, his complex artistic relationship with Ellington, and his personal life as an openly gay black man in an era when such a thing was nearly unthinkable. Just last month, a documentary film of the same name aired on PBS to tell even more of the story. The accompanying soundtrack CD on Blue Note falls somewhere in between a multi-artist tribute album of the sort that producer Hal Willner pioneered (with his classic 1980s salutes to Thelonious Monk, Kurt Weill, and Nino Rota) and a conventional film score attributed to a single artist. The core group on roughly half the selections consists of Joe Lovano on tenor sax, either Hank Jones or Bill Charlap on piano (in fact, both of them share the song “Tonk” as Ellington and Strayhorn first did), George Mraz on bass, and Paul Motian on drums. Dianne Reeves and her combo handle the other half of the album, giving listeners a chance to experience Strayhorn’s approach to vocal music. Elvis Costello drops by to perform one song (“My Flame Burns Blue,” featuring his own lyrics for Strayhorn’s final instrumental composition), but that’s about it in the celebrity cameo department. As a result, the disc feels a lot more cohesive than it might if it were crowded with guest stars. This is a carefully sequenced album, the transitions from one song to the next often so smooth that the first few times I heard it I was convinced it was one long medley. The CD makes an excellent introduction to Strayhorn’s legacy, but it’s just as effective at conjuring up the atmosphere of his day. The sax-driven “Chelsea Bridge,” for instance, sounds like it comes straight from a vintage film noir, full of cigarette smoke and shadows. The opening piano solo “Fantastic Rhythm” evokes an even earlier era of saloons and speakeasies. Then there’s Reeves. I raved about her voice just over a year ago in my review of the soundtrack to the film Good Night, and Good Luck, but I don’t mind repeating myself: she’s got a clear, straightforward tone whose appeal is hard to resist. If, like me, you’re not a fan of the note-bending hysterics of the average American Idol finalist, Reeves will sound like a godsend. There’s a measured sense of pacing and an intimacy to her delivery of songs like “So This is Love” that makes me feel like I’m sitting in some tiny cabaret in the presence of greatness. She’s been handed the responsibility of performing Strayhorn’s most frequently covered composition, the title song. (“Take the A Train” is not included here, surely because it’s so thoroughly associated with Ellington, and the very point of this project is to consider Strayhorn as his own man.) While it’s notoriously difficult to sing, “Lush Life” is a stunner in just about any rendition — it’s astounding to discover that such a world-weary lyric was written by a teenager! — and Reeves’s version is a highlight of the collection. A couple of less well-known songs suggest just how far Strayhorn’s talents ranged. “Valse” is classical piano improvisation in high Romantic mode, while “The Flowers Die of Love” is a melodically complex art song bordering on the avant-garde. (If I were forced to guess its date without any hints, I’d pick sometime in the mid-to-late 1970s, a full decade after the composer’s death.) Neither is a particular favorite of mine, but I’m glad they’re here — just as I’m delighted to have the chance to learn more about an artist who is finally finding his place in the history books. Ron Ehmke is a Tonawanda-based writer and performer; more of his work can be found at www.everythingron.com back to top back to table of contents Current Issue | About Forever Young | Where to Find | Advertise | Our Advertisers | Community Calendar | Contest | Clubs | Contact Us | Archives | Home |
