It's a Dirge Dude!

I just got done practicing my trumpet a little bit, and I have decided that Mr. Duke Ellington is of an unbelievable genius. I never really thought highly enough of him in the past. I mean, he wasn't a bebopper, or part of the cool movement, or free jazz, or avant-garde; he always stuck to pretty dang conservative jazz. But it's a mistake to say that he was part of the swing school too. True, he made heavy use of the big band format, but his music never reflected the rampant pop commercialism that taints much swing. It was fresh. Always. My point with all this is that we're playing "Black and Tan Fantasy" in PYJO, which is by Ellington. The trumpet part is so superficially simple that it appears a 2nd year player could easily play it. Admittedly, there are other horn parts that are more complex, but the score seems reletively simple at first glance. Yet, I would say that this is one of the most difficult pieces I have ever played. The way all of the voicings fit together is soooo, soooooooo cool. It's essentially this kind of work song with a dirge on either end. God, it's amazing. And the trumpet part is great because it is essentially just these long wails with a plunger, but it's incredibly difficult. The notion of wailing with a plunger seems simple, but is in fact incredible difficult. That's what I love about jazz. Seemingly simple things are not as easy as they seem. Quite the contrary. But anyway, I've decided that Ellington is on a plane of creative genius higher than any other jazz composer. I have only begun to understand.