Twenty-five years ago in his hit song, "Sir Duke," Stevie Wonder sings: "Music knows it is and always will be one of the things that life just won't quit. / Here are some of music's basic pioneers that time will not allow us to forget: / There's Basie, Miller, Satchmo, and the King of All, Sir Dukel/ And with a voice like Ella's ringing out, there's no way the band can lose! / You can feel it all over!!" To say that Ellington was a prominent jazz-band leader of the twentieth century would be like saying William Shakespeare was simply a prominent English playwright of the time. This book begins with personal reflections as well as the life before going on to consider--through anecdote, musical scholarship, and personal interviews--Ellington's profound and direct influence on an amazing range of pop artists: Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan,Miles Davis (who, in the ultimate tribute, had himself interred next to The Duke in New York's Woodlawn Cemetery), Sun Ra, James Brown, Sly Stone, George Clinton, Prince, Frank Zappa, Charles Mingus, Ravi Shankar, and others.

Table of Contents

1. You can feel it all over: Duke Ellington's impact on Modern Music; a. Introduction; b. Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington; c. Stevie Wonder; d. Steely Dan; e. Miles Davis; f. Sun Ra; g. James Brown; h. Sly Stone; i. George Clinton; ia. A Discussion with Frank "Kash" Waddy; j. Prince; k. Frank Zappa; l. Charles Mingus; m. Ravi Shankar; n. Two Kindred Spirits; o. A Spiritual Bond; p. Ellington's Third Sacred Concert; 2. Author's Afterword; a. Ellington Recordings; b. Ellington's Legacy

Author Biography

Peter Lavezzoli is the author of The King of All, Sir Duke: Ellington and the Artistic Revolution, which is also published by Continuum. As a percussionist and vocalist, Lavezzoli explores the connection between musical and spiritual expression. He lives in Fort Lauderdale, FL