Billy Strayhorn

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Billy Strayhorn
photo by Carl Van Vechten, 14 August 1958
photo by Carl Van Vechten, 14 August 1958
Background information
Birth name William Thomas Strayhorn
Born November 29, 1915(1915-11-29)
Flag of the United StatesDayton, Ohio, USA
Died May 31, 1967 (aged 51)
New York City, New York, USA
Genre(s) Classical, mainstream jazz, swing music
Occupation(s) Arranger, composer, pianist
Label(s) United Artists, Verve
Associated acts Duke Ellington
Website www.billystrayhorn.com

William Thomas "Billy" Strayhorn (November 29, 1915 – May 31, 1967) was an American composer, pianist and arranger, best known for his successful collaboration with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington lasting two decades. His compositions include "Chelsea Bridge", "Take the "A" Train" and "Lush Life".

Contents

[edit] Biography

William "Billy" Thomas Strayhorn was born in Dayton, Ohio, November 29, 1915. His family was from Hillsborough, North Carolina, and he spent many months of his childhood at his grandparents' house there. In an interview, Strayhorn said that his grandmother was his primary influence during the first ten years of his life, and where he first became interested in music, playing hymns on her piano and playing records on her Victrola record player.[1] He began his musical career in Pittsburgh, where he studied classical music for a time at the Pittsburgh Music Institute, wrote a high school musical, formed a musical trio that played daily on a local radio station, and, while still in his teens, composed (with lyrics) the songs Life is Lonely (later renamed Lush Life), My Little Brown Book, and Something to Live For. While still in grade school, he worked odd jobs to earn enough money to buy his first piano. While in high school, he played in the school band, and studied under the same teacher who had earlier instructed jazz pianists Errol Garner and Mary Lou Williams. By age 19 he was writing for a professional musical, Fantastic Rhythm.

Though classical music was Strayhorn’s first love, his ambition to become a classical composer was shot down by the harsh reality of a black man trying to make it in the then completely white classical world. Strayhorn was then introduced to the music of pianists like Art Tatum and Teddy Wilson at age 19. These musicians guided him into the realm of jazz where he stayed creating masterpieces for the rest of his life. His first jazz exposure was a combo called the "Mad Hatters" who played around Pittsburgh, until he met Duke Ellington in December, 1938, after an Ellington performance in Pittsburgh (he had first seen Ellington play in Pittsburgh in 1933). Here he first told, and then showed, the band leader how he would have arranged one of Duke's own pieces. Ellington was impressed enough to invite other band members to hear Strayhorn. At the end of the visit he arranged for Strayhorn to meet him when the band returned to New York. Strayhorn worked for Ellington for the next quarter century as an arranger, composer, occasional pianist and collaborator until his early death from cancer. As Ellington described him, "my right arm, my left arm, all the eyes in the back of my head, my brain waves in his head, and his in mine".[2]

His relationship with Ellington was always difficult to pin down: Strayhorn was a gifted composer and arranger who seemed to flourish in Duke's shadow. Ellington was somewhat of a father figure and the band, by and large, was affectionately protective of the diminutive, mild-mannered, unselfish Strayhorn, nicknamed by the band "Strays", "Weely", and "Swee' Pea". Ellington may have taken advantage of him, but not in the mercenary way that others had taken advantage of Ellington; instead, he used Strayhorn to complete his thoughts, while giving Strayhorn the freedom to write on his own and enjoy at least some of the credit he deserved. Strayhorn, for his part, may have preferred to stay out of the limelight, since that also allowed him to be out of the closet in an era and a community intolerant of gay artists. Though Duke Ellington took credit for much of Strayhorn’s work, he did not maliciously drown out his partner. Ellington would make jokes onstage like, “Strayhorn does a lot of the work but I get to take the bows!” In addition to Strayhorn being naturally shy, society made it hard for a black homosexual to get any recognition at all.

Strayhorn composed the band's theme, "Take the "A" Train", and a number of other pieces that became part of the band’s repertoire. In some cases Strayhorn received attribution for his work such as, "Lotus Blossom", "Chelsea Bridge", and "Rain Check", while other such as "Day Dream" and "Something to Live For", were listed as collaborations with Ellington or in the case of "Satin Doll" and "Sugar Hill Penthouse" were credited to Ellington alone. Strayhorn also arranged many of Ellington's band-within-band recordings and provided harmonic clarity, taste, and polish to Duke's compositions. On the other hand, Ellington gave Strayhorn full credit as his collaborator on later, larger works such as "Such Sweet Thunder", "A Drum Is a Woman", "The Perfume Suite" and "The Far East Suite", where Strayhorn and Ellington worked closely together.[3]

Openly gay during an extremely homophobic era, Strayhorn participated in many civil rights causes, trying to correct this societal flaw before the movement gained momentum. As a committed friend to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., he arranged and conducted "King Fought the Battle of 'Bam'" for the Ellington Orchestra in 1963 for the historical revue My People, dedicated to Dr. King. Critics agree that his dedication to the gay movement was a contributing factor to him being so overlooked as an important musician. More attention was given to the fact that he was gay and black than to his genius as a pianist, composer, and arranger. For this reason, he long hid behind Ellington, letting the Duke take credit for much of his work.

Billy Strayhorn had a reputation for having an impact on many people he met because he had such a strong character. He had a major influence on the career of Lena Horne. He was well versed in classical music, and used his knowledge to improve her technique as a singer. They eventually recorded songs together. In the 1950s, Strayhorn strayed from his musical partner Duke Ellington for a few years to pursue a solo career of his own. He came out with a few solo albums, revues for the Copasetics (a New York show-business society) and took on theater productions with his friend Luther Henderson. Strayhorn’s compositions are known for the bittersweet sentiment, and classically infused designs that set him apart from Ellington.

Strayhorn was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus in 1964, which eventually caused his death in 1967. While in the hospital, he submitted his final composition to his longtime friend, Duke Ellington. Blood Count was produced by Ellington after Strayhorn's death and used as the first track to Strayhorn’s tribute CD, …And His Mother Called Him Bill. The recording is known as one of Ellington’s finest albums. Strayhorn finally succumbed in the early morning on May 31st, 1967, in the company of his partner, Bill Grove (it has often been falsely reported that Strayhorn died in Lena Horne's arms. By her own accounts, Horne was touring in Europe when she received the news of Strayhorn's death).[4] His ashes were scattered in the Hudson River by a gathering of his closest friends.

[edit] Legacy

Strayhorn's arrangements had a tremendous impact on the Ellington band. Ellington always wrote for the personnel he had at the time, showcasing both the personalities and sound of soloists such as Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, Ben Webster, Lawrence Brown and Jimmy Blanton, and drawing on the contrasts between players or sections to create a new sound for his band. Strayhorn brought a more linear, classically schooled ear to Ellington’s works, setting down in permanent form the sound and structures that Ellington sought.

Strayhorn’s own work, particularly his pieces written for Johnny Hodges on alto saxophone, often had a bittersweet, languorous flavor. He wrote his last pieces while dying from cancer of the esophagus; he delivered his last piece, Blue Cloud, to Ellington while in the hospital. Ellington included that piece, renamed Blood Count, on the album, ...And His Mother Called Him Bill, that he recorded several months after Strayhorn's death as a tribute to his friend and collaborator.Track 12 of the album is a spontaneous solo version of 'Lotus Blossom' by Ellington who just sat at the piano and played for his friend while the band packed away after the recording session (they can be heard in the background). The small errors in the playing only make the piece one of the most poignant memorials ever recorded.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Sanford, Mary P. Strayhorn, William (Billy) Thomas. Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, Vol. 5, 1994, p. 460
  2. ^ Duke Ellington, Music Is My Mistress, Da Capo, 1973, ISBN 0-306-80033-0. p. 156
  3. ^ Sonjia Stone (1983). Biography. Billy Strayhorn Songs, Inc.. Retrieved on 2006-12-29.
  4. ^ David Hajdu, "Lush Life: A Biography of Billy Strayhorn", Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1996, ISBN 0-86547-512-1. p. 254.
  • Hajdu, David (1996). Lush Life: A Biography of Billy Strayhorn. New York: Farrar Straus & Giroux. ISBN 0374194386. 
  • Van de Leur, Walter (2002). Something to Live For: The Music of Billy Strayhorn. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195124480. 

[edit] External links

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