- published: 27 Jul 2014
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Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American composer, pianist and bandleader of a jazz orchestra. He led his orchestra from 1923 until his death, his career spanning over 50 years.
Born in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based in New York City from the mid-1920s onward, and gained a national profile through his orchestra's appearances at the Cotton Club in Harlem. In the 1930s, his orchestra toured in Europe. Though widely considered to have been a pivotal figure in the history of jazz, Ellington embraced the phrase "beyond category" as a liberating principle, and referred to his music as part of the more general category of American Music, rather than to a musical genre such as jazz.
Some of the musicians who were members of Ellington's orchestra, such as saxophonist Johnny Hodges, are considered to be among the best players in jazz. Ellington melded them into the best-known orchestral unit in the history of jazz. Some members stayed with the orchestra for several decades. A master at writing miniatures for the three-minute 78 rpm recording format, Ellington often composed specifically to feature the style and skills of his individual musicians.
Actors: Michel Gondry (director), Michel Gondry (writer), Aïssa Maïga (actress), Philippe Torreton (actor), Arlette Zylberberg (producer), Genevieve Lemal (producer), Zinedine Soualem (actor), Omar Sy (actor), Sacha Bourdo (actor), Michel Gondry (actor), Alain Chabat (actor), Frédéric Saurel (actor), Gad Elmaleh (actor), Wilfred Benaïche (actor), Romain Duris (actor),
Genres: Drama, Fantasy,Actors: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (actor), Ella Fitzgerald (actress), Janet Jackson (actress), Tyne Daly (actress), Charlie Watts (actor), Duke Ellington (actor), Ron Perlman (actor), Andy Garcia (actor), Dizzy Gillespie (actor), Danny Glover (actor), Jeff Goldblum (actor), Bill Cosby (actor), Billy Crystal (actor), Mickey Cottrell (miscellaneous crew), John Legend (actor),
Genres: Biography, Documentary,Actors: Burt Bacharach (actor), John Frankenheimer (actor), Dennis Hopper (actor), Rich Cowan (producer), Benny Carter (actor), Diana Krall (actress), Andrew Hulme (editor), Julian Benedikt (writer), Julian Benedikt (director), Chico Hamilton (actor), Peggy Moffitt (actress), Cassandra Wilson (actress), Vidal Sassoon (actor), Christopher M. Allan (writer), Richard Gates (actor),
Plot: "Jazz Seen" is an exploration of the life of William Claxton, whose photographs turned the world of jazz on its keen and perceptive ear. Various jazz artists, photographers, and actors recount memories they had with Claxton and explore his work, while parts of his life are re-enacted by actors.
Keywords: independent-film, jazz-music, jazz-score, new-york-cityActors: Loretta Devine (actress), Cicely Tyson (actress), Beau Starr (actor), Clarence Williams III (actor), Queen Latifah (actress), Tim Roth (actor), Laurence Fishburne (actor), Ed O'Ross (actor), Kenya Cagle (actor), Andy Garcia (actor), William Atherton (actor), Mike Starr (actor), Richard Bradford (actor), Bill Duke (producer), Vanessa Williams (actress),
Plot: The film focuses on the war of two gangs in 1930s Harlem for the control of illegal gaming - one headed by black strategic godfather Bumpy Johnson and another by white ruthless hothead Dutch Schultz. Negotiations proposed by white syndicate boss Lucky Luciano never get under way, blood flows and Johnson gets jailed. When Johnson is paroled, he gets the work of enforcer for mighty Stephanie "The Queen" St. Clair. She is also jailed for racketeering and when she leaves she makes him promise "no violence".
Keywords: 1930s, african-american, amazing-grace-hymn, ambush, assassination-attempt, bare-breasts, bare-breasts, based-on-true-story, betrayal, blackmailActors: Mark Margolis (actor), Fred Gwynne (actor), Paul Herman (actor), Bob Hoskins (actor), Richard Gere (actor), Giancarlo Esposito (actor), Joe Dallesandro (actor), Dayton Allen (actor), Gregory Hines (actor), Laurence Fishburne (actor), Nicolas Cage (actor), Bill Cobbs (actor), Allen Garfield (actor), James Remar (actor), Ed O'Ross (actor),
Plot: The Cotton Club was a famous night club in Harlem. The story follows the people that visited the club, those that ran it, and is peppered with the Jazz music that made it so famous.
Keywords: 1920s, 1930s, african-american, band, based-on-novel, biracial, black-american, box-office-flop, controversy, cotton-club-manhattan-new-york-cityActors: Duke Ellington (actor), Will Cowan (producer), Will Cowan (director), Duke Ellington Orchestra (actor), The Edwards Sisters (actress),
Plot: A Universal "Name Band Musical" with Duke Ellington and his Orchestra opening with "Take the 'A' Train", followed by "Suddenly It Jumped" which serves as accompaniment for the dancing of the Edwards Sisters. Other numbers are; "Turquoise Cloud," "Knock Me a Kiss," and "Frankie and Johnny."
Keywords: 1940s, bandstand, dancer, dancing, musician, orchestra, orchestra-leader, singer, singing, sister-sister-relationshipActors: Richard Keene (actor), Brandon Hurst (actor), Payne B. Johnson (actor), Warren Hymer (actor), Harry Barris (actor), John Gallaudet (actor), Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson (actor), Bing Crosby (actor), Brian Donlevy (actor), Louis Armstrong (actor), Brooks Benedict (actor), Jimmie Dundee (actor), Duke Ellington (actor), Roscoe Ates (actor), Cecil Kellaway (actor),
Plot: Jeff grows up near Basin Street in New Orleans, playing his clarinet with the dock workers. He puts together a band, the Basin Street Hot-Shots, which includes a cornet player, Memphis. They struggle to get their jazz music accepted by the cafe society of the city. Betty Lou joins their band as a singer and gets Louie to show her how to do scat singing. Memphis and Jeff both fall in love with Betty Lou.
Keywords: african-american, cultural-conflict, jazz, movie-theater, murder, musician, new-orleans-louisiana, scat-singingActors: Eddie Kane (actor), Kit Guard (actor), Jack Egan (actor), Jack Daley (actor), Harvey Clark (actor), Jack George (actor), Johnny Arthur (actor), Duke Ellington (actor), Elmer (actor), Jim Farley (actor), Stanley Fields (actor), William Demarest (actor), Otto Fries (actor), Edward Brophy (actor), J. Farrell MacDonald (actor),
Plot: Agent Pete Garland is fired by society singer Monica Barrett after he got her a new radio contract, because she thinks her lawyer friend Teddy Leeds fits in better with her social status. To get even, Pete wants to make an unknown singer into a star. He finds Ruth Allison, drives her hard through rehearsals and makes her a star. But she is worried about her past, something she hasn't told Pete: She's an ex-convict and jumped bail in order to keep her partners in crime out of it. Further she's in love with Pete, but feels that he's still carrying a torch for Monica. When Monica's popularity is decreasing, Pete is able to get Ruth a stint on the program, the result is Monica is fired and Ruth get her job, but Monica takes revenge by revealing Ruth's past. Ruth considers it is best for her to disappear before being arrested, but she has become a star in public opinion. Will she get Pete or will she go to prison again ?
Keywords: digit-in-title, number-in-title, radio, year-in-titleActors: Duke Ellington (actor), Dudley Murphy (writer), Dudley Murphy (director), Russell G. Shields (editor), Hall Johnson Choir (actor), Duke Ellington Orchestra (actor), Alec Lovejoy (actor), Fredi Washington (actress), Barney Bigard (actor), Joe 'Tricky Sam' Nanton (actor), Edgar Connor (actor), Hall Johnson (actor), Arthur Whetsol (actor), Wellman Braud (actor), Irving Mills (miscellaneous crew),
Plot: Duke Ellington plays hot jazz in a fictional story that finds him down on his luck; he tries in vain to dissuade his friend, dancer Fredi Washington, from working with heart trouble even though it means work for his band. Sure enough, she collapses on stage...
Keywords: actor-shares-first-name-with-character, actor-shares-last-name-with-character, actress-shares-first-name-with-character, actress-shares-last-name-with-character, african-american, bootleg-booze, cigarette-smoking, color-in-title, composer, cotton-clubIn my solitude you haunt me
with reveries of days gone by
in my solitude you taunt me
with memories that never die
i sit in my chair
filled with despair
nobody could be so sad
with gloom ev'rywhere
i sit and i stare
i know that i'll soon go mad
in my solitude
i'm praying
dear lord above
send back my love
alternative lyric:
in my solitude you haunt me
with reveries of days gone by
in my solitude you taunt me
with memories that never die
i sit in my chair
i'm filled with despair
there's no one could be so sad
with gloom ev'rywhere
i sit and i stare
i know that i'll soon go mad
in my solitude
i'm praying
dear lord above
send back my love