A Drum Is A Woman (180g)

During his long and prolific career, Duke Ellington composed music for concerts ranging from the most prestigious venues to dance halls. He also wrote for the theater, for movies (with and without him on screen), and, of course, for records. The work contained on this album, however, originates from an early television special. “Another great opportunity occurred later in the year [1956],” wrote Duke Ellington in his memoirs titled Music Is my Mistress, “when we presented A Drum Is a Woman on the ‘U.S. Steel Hour’. This musical fantasy or allegory told the story of jazz in terms of the adventures of Madam Zajj and Carribee Joe, from the Caribbean to the moon via Congo Square and Fifty-Second Street. It was in four parts with a dozen selections, two reprises, and a finale. Extra percussion, a harp, and the voices of Margaret Tynes, Joya Sherrill, and Ozzie Bailey were used, but what could not be experienced on the album was the radiant presence of Carmen de Lavallade, who danced so superbly in the television version.” The work was an equal collaboration between Ellington and Strayhorn. As Strayhorn himself put it: “I suppose the largest hunk of collaboration was A Drum Is a Woman in which we just kind of did everything. He wrote lyrics, I wrote lyrics. He wrote music, and I wrote music. He arranged, and I arranged.” The show was extremely successful and enjoyed a wide audience. This was noteworthy considering that in 1957, an all-black television show was not a common event.