TRANSCRIPT:
I’m Mark Rapp, and this is Rapp on Jazz.
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. Strayhorn’s sophisticated harmonies and melodic sensibilities, combined with Ellington’s improvisational brilliance, created pieces conveying joy, longing, humor, and drama.
Songs like Such Sweet Thunder and A Drum Is a Woman illustrate their ability to tell stories without words, using rhythm, dynamics, and orchestration to evoke scenes and characters.
Strayhorn’s compositional skill provided structure and nuance, while Ellington’s interpretation and band leadership brought those stories vividly to life. Their partnership is a living, breathing form of narrative art.
This has been Rapp on Jazz, a co-production of ColaJazz and SC Public Radio, made possible by The ETV Endowment of South Carolina.