"East St. Louis Toodle-Oo," Duke Ellington (1927)
"East St. Louis Toodle-Oo," Duke Ellington (1927)
“East St. Louis Toodle-Oo” was recorded three times within 1927 by Duke Ellington. The third version of the piece seemed to match trumpeter Bubber Miley’s description of the work: “This is...
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“East St. Louis Toodle-Oo” was recorded three times within 1927 by Duke Ellington. The third version of the piece seemed to match trumpeter Bubber Miley’s description of the work: “This is an old man, tired from working in the field since sunup, coming up the road in the sunset on his way home to dinner. He’s tired but strong, and humming in time with his broken gait.” Ellington’s orchestration was at times both gritty and sweet, and emblematic of the emerging jazz sounds in New York during the late 1920s. The sheer magnitude of the composition seems to be as grand as the mural panels for the Ziegfeld Theatre. Additionally, since the Ziegfeld Theatre opened in 1927—and Ellington recorded this composition in the same year—the connection seemed exemplary. Text by James Saltzman, Faculty, Manhattan School of Music
We know one item that is featured in this video.
- Two Mural Panels For The Ziegfeld Theatre, The Joy of Life
- oil on canvas.
- The Collection of Richard H. Driehaus, Chicago.
- 49.2016.1
