Duke Ellington : a listener's guide /

The publication of this large reference marks the centennial of Ellington's birth. The late Eddie Lambert reviews virtually every Ellington recording from 1924 until Ellington's death in 1974. The author's intimate knowledge of this massive body of some of the most important music in US culture results in copious, insightful commentary. Chapters on the recordings alternate with background chapters on the stages of the band's history and its sidemen. Though an unabashed fan of the music, Lambert was not afraid to take a stance on what he considered superior and inferior work in the vast Ellington canon. The publishers wisely limited the scope of the discography (other references cover that in depth). The book's weaknesses stem from the fact that Lambert died in 1987. No book of this nature can be completely up-to-date when it appears, but the 12-year lag results in significant omissions: in the interim much previously unavailable recorded material has been released, and scholarly research, particularly that related to the Ellington archives at the Smithsonian Institution, has shed new light on Ellington's work. This information might have tempered some of Lambert's opinions (especially related to Billy Strayhorn). Nonetheless, this is an impressive and valuable reference for any serious collection of jazz or US music literature. K. R. Dietrich Ripon College