DUKE ELLINGTON ( ARR . JENSEN ) “ Come Sunday ”
ABOUT THE COMPOSER
Born 1899 in Washington , D . C ; died 1974 in New York City , NY
• Duke Ellington ’ s parents were pianists and Ellington , following in his parents ’ footsteps , studied piano as well .
• Ellington was inspired by popular pianists of his time and began to take his studies more seriously . He wrote his first composition “ Soda Fountain Rag ” when he was just 15 years old while working at a café .
• By the time Ellington was 18 , he started gaining recognition as a pianist and formed his own group , earning a regular gig at NYC ’ s Cotton Club where he garnered national fame . Ellington ’ s orchestra became one of the most prolific orchestras of all time and included musicians such as Cootie Williams , Johnny Hodges , and Sidney Bechet .
• Ellington composed over 1,000 works , which span multiple genres , in his lifetime . His body of work is the largest recorded personal jazz legacy , and many of his works have become standards in the American music idiom such as “ It Don ’ t Mean a Thing ,” “ Take the A Train ,” and “ In A Sentimental Mood .”
• Ellington was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize and lives on as an essential part of American music .
ABOUT THE PIECE
• “ Come Sunday ” was written in 1942 as part of the first movement of a Suite entitled Black , Brown , and Beige .
• Ellington wrote the composition for a performance at Carnegie Hall , which was later turned into a famous record . Duke later reworked and re-recorded the piece on an album also entitled Come Sunday . The piece originally featured saxophonist Johnny Hodges , while the later version featured singer Mahalia Jackson . Today the work remains a jazz standard .
THE WORLD AT A GLANCE
1942
MUSIC Lionel Hampton ’ s “ Flying Home ”
FILM Casablanca
TECHNOLOGY Kodak begins selling color film
HISTORY Executive Order 9066 is signed into law authorizing the placement of Japanese Americans in internment camps
24 BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA