PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Duke Ellington, Part 1

PEOPLE IN AMERICA - September 15, 2002: Duke Ellington, Part 1

By Paul Thompson

VOICE 1:
I'm Shirley Griffith.
VOICE 2:

 

And I'm Ray Freeman with the VOA Special English program, People in America.
Every week we tell about a person who was important in the history of the United
States. Today, we tell about the great jazz musician, Edward Kennedy Ellington. He
was better known to the world as "Duke" Ellington.

((MUSIC))

VOICE 1:

That was Duke Ellington's orchestra¹ playing "Take the 'A' Train." Just the first few
notes of that song are enough to tell any music expert who is playing. It is like a musical sign. The sign says,
"Listen! You are about to hear something by Duke Ellington's Orchestra." It was always the first song his
orchestra played.

"Take the 'A' Train" was only one of hundreds of songs he played all over the world.

((MUSIC))

VOICE 2:

Edward Kennedy Ellington was born on April twenty-ninth, eighteen ninety-nine, in Washington, D-C. His
family lived in the African-American area of Washington. It was a time when racial separation was the law in
much of the United States. Racial laws and racial hatred² were to follow Edward Kennedy Ellington all through
his life.

Young Edward liked clothes. A friend once looked at him and said, "you look like a duke." He meant that
Edward's clothes were so good that he looked like a member of a royal family.

Other friends laughed. Yet they all began calling him "Duke." The name stayed with him the rest of his life.

VOICE 1:

When he was about seven years old, Duke Ellington began to play the piano. When he was in high school, he
began to paint. He became very good at both.

A famous art school in New York City invited him to take classes there. But he had already decided³ to become a
musician. He got his first professional job in nineteen-sixteen. He played music at night and painted business
signs during the day.

The most popular music back then was called ragtime⁴. Duke listened to ragtime piano players who visited
Washington. Then he tried to play as well, or better than, they did. Years later, he recorded a song that showed
how well he could play the piano. It is a ragtime song called "Lots O' Fingers."

((MUSIC))

VOICE 2:


Duke Ellington moved to New York City in nineteen-twenty-three. He had a small band. Soon it was playing at
the famous cotton club, where it would play for many years. Duke and his band could play at the cotton club. But
they could not come to hear anyone else, because they were black.

Duke did not become angry. He did not become filled with hatred toward⁵ white people. He let his music speak
for him.

VOICE 1:

In time, Duke Ellington's band got bigger. It was a jazz orchestra. More people began hearing the orchestra's
music. They could hear it on a radio program from the cotton club. The program often could be heard all over the
United States.

At the same time, Duke Ellington and the members of his orchestra began recording⁶ their songs. Their first hit
record was one of their most famous. It was recorded in October of nineteen-thirty. It was called "Dreamy Blues⁷.
" Later, Duke changed the name. It is still considered a great blues song and is often played today. It is called
"Mood Indigo⁸."

((MUSIC))

VOICE 2:

An orchestra is a team made up of individual players. Like any team, the individuals in an orchestra must
cooperate⁹ to produce good music. The leader of a team, or an orchestra, must learn the strength and the weakness
of each member. And a good leader will use this knowledge to make the team or orchestra produce the best
result.

In the nineteen-twenties and nineteen-thirties, members of a dance orchestra never stayed with one group for
long. Musicians moved from group to group. Yet, when a musician played with Duke Ellington, he usually
stayed, sometimes for many years.

VOICE 1:

This had an effect on the group's music. Duke would write music especially for musicians in the orchestra. His
songs used the strengths of one or two individuals. The rest of the orchestra cooperated¹⁰ with them.

This cooperation became the method Ellington used again and again to produce beautiful sound colors. His music
could make people feel deep emotions -- feelings of happiness, or sadness, or loneliness, or Joy.

VOICE 2:

Some members of the Duke Ellington orchestra were the best jazz musicians of their day. Their cooperation
produced a sound that is almost impossible for others to re-create. To create that same sound, you would need the
musicians who first played the music.

One of those musicians was "Cootie" Williams. He played the trumpet¹¹ in the Duke Ellington orchestra for many
years. Duke Ellington used the strength of Cootie Williams when he wrote a song called, "A Concerto¹² for
Cootie." Critics said this work showed the unity¹³ between the music writer, the leader of the orchestra, and its
members.

Listen as Cootie Williams seems to lead the orchestra. Hear how the other members cooperate with him to
produce a very beautiful and special sound.

((MUSIC))

VOICE 1:

This Special English program was written by Paul Thompson. It was produced by Lawan Davis. I'm Shirley
Griffith.


VOICE 2:

And I'm Ray Freeman. Join us again next week at this time for the second part of our People in America program
about Duke Ellington on the Voice of America.

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1 orchestra   

n.管弦乐队；vt.命令，定购

参考例句：

• He plays the violin in an orchestra.他在管弦乐队中演奏小提琴。
• I was tempted to stay and hear this superb orchestra rehearse.我真想留下来听这支高超的管弦乐队排练。

2 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 ragtime   

n.拉格泰姆音乐

参考例句：

• The most popular music back then was called ragtime.那时最流行的音乐叫拉格泰姆音乐。
• African-American piano player Scott Joplin wrote many ragtime songs.非裔美国钢琴家ScottJoplin写了许多拉格泰姆歌曲。

5 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

6 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

7 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

8 indigo   

n.靛青，靛蓝

参考例句：

• The sky was indigo blue,and a great many stars were shining.天空一片深蓝，闪烁着点点繁星。
• He slipped into an indigo tank.他滑落到蓝靛桶中。

9 cooperate   

vi.合作，协作，相配合

参考例句：

• We hope we can cooperate even more closely in the future.希望我们今后能更加密切地合作。
• I hope you can cooperate on this matter.我希望你在这件事上能给予合作。

10 cooperated   

合作，配合，协助( cooperate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The children cooperated with their teachers in keeping the classroom neat. 孩子们和老师一起保持教室整洁。
• Unemployment and lingering disease cooperated to make his family broken. 失业加上长期的疾病，使他倾家荡产。

11 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

12 concerto   

n.协奏曲

参考例句：

• The piano concerto was well rendered.钢琴协奏曲演奏得很好。
• The concert ended with a Mozart violin concerto.音乐会在莫扎特的小提琴协奏曲中结束。

13 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。