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Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn's collaboration was not just about music—it was about storytelling through jazz. Together, they transformed the big band into a narrative instrument, where every arrangement and solo contributed to a larger emotional journey. -
Billy Strayhorn was more than Duke Ellington’s collaborator—he was a singular musical voice.
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"Lady Sings the Blues" is one of Billie Holiday’s signature recordings, and it’s a masterclass in vocal jazz. -
Ellen Schlaefer, director of Opera Studies at the University of South Carolina School of Music, shares insights into Gian Carlo Menotti's Pulitzer Prize-winning opera ahead of three performances Nov. 7-9. -
Jazz helped reshape the visual arts. Artists like Romare Bearden and Jackson Pollock translated jazz's energy, rhythm, and improvisation onto canvas. -
Colson Whitehead’s fiction often pulses with the spirit of jazz, shaping both rhythm and structure in his narratives. -
Throughout American literature, jazz has been a storytelling tool. Writers like Ralph Ellison and Toni Morrison didn’t merely write about jazz — they wrote with it. -
Ralph Ellison, author of "Invisible Man," grew up playing the trumpet and carried jazz in his bones. -
Allen Ginsberg, a powerful voice of the Beat Generation, drew deep inspiration from jazz. -
When you think of the Beat Generation, you think of Jack Kerouac—and behind his writing, you’ll almost always find jazz. -
Langston Hughes, the celebrated poet of the Harlem Renaissance, was deeply inspired by the music of Duke Ellington. -
Langston Hughes, one of the leading voices of the Harlem Renaissance, often described his poetry as “jazz written on the page.” He was deeply inspired by the rhythms, improvisation, and spirit of African American music.
