Obituary: Ralph Burns

From: The Independent (London, England) | Date: November 23, 2001| Author: | Copyright information

THE PIANIST Ralph Burns was the lynchpin of the Woody Herman First Herd of 1945. His writings for that band thrust him with it to the forefront of the musical exhilaration that came with the end of the Second World War. Recordings like "Northwest Passage", "Apple Honey" and "Caldonia" burned themselves for life in the minds of those of us who grew up with them. Amid Herman's brilliant and volatile young men that Burns was one of the most hard-swinging and effective of jazz pianists was largely overlooked.

Among the most inspired of Herman's men was the trombonist Bill Harris, the excitement ...

Read all of this article with a FREE trial to HighBeam Research

Related newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles from HighBeam Research

(Including press releases, facts, information, and biographies)

In The Village Of Harlem: Duke Ellington Circle Named In His Honor
; ...1995 In The Village Of Harlem: Duke Ellington Circle Named In His Honor. The site chosen for the Duke Ellington Memorial (at Fifth Avenue and 110th...was recently officially named "Duke Ellington Circle," honoring one of American...
Comedian Chappelle Comes Home to His Alma Mater; Star Raises Money for Duke Ellington School
; ...District native and graduate of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Georgetown, headlined...Cooper Cafritz and Rory L. Pullens, Duke Ellington's principal, all expressed their gratitude...Unitarian minister, worked to get him into Duke Ellington, where his talent bloomed by the ...
Duke Ellington: A man for all music.
; ...exhaustive 24-CD, $407 box set ``The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition,'' due in stores...playing with Coltrane? Of course not. But Duke Ellington was completely comfortable playing...says, referring to the 1962 album ``Duke Ellington and John Coltrane.'' ``Every time I...
Comic Comes Home to Alma Mater; David Chappelle Raises Money for Duke Ellington School
; ...District native and graduate of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Georgetown, headlined...Cooper Cafritz and Rory L. Pullens, Duke Ellington's principal, expressed gratitude to...Unitarian minister, worked to get him into Duke Ellington, where his talent bloomed by the time...
World premiere of `In a Different Light: Duke Ellington'
; ...premiere of `In a Different Light: Duke Ellington' Donald Byrd/The Group, under the artistic...premiere of "In a Different Light: Duke Ellington," a full-length, three-act work, at...29-March 5. Byrd's "In a Different Light: Duke Ellington" is a tribute to the great American...
New Smithsonsian Exhibit About Duke Ellington
; ...new exhibit on the musical genius of Duke Ellington. [News headlines] EDWARDS: When you...Beyond Category - The Musical Genius of Duke Ellington,' which celebrates the life and career...really deserves that term more than Duke Ellington himself. Ellington was uncategorizable...
Duke Ellington's Washington, Hour-Long Special Celebrating Vibrant Past and Present of Overlooked Community in Nation's Capital, Premieres on PBS
; Tennessee TRIBUNE, The 02-02-2000 DUKE ELLINGTON'S WASHINGTON, HOUR-LONG SPECIAL CELEBRATING...NATION'S CAPITAL, PREMIERES ON PBS Duke Ellington's Washington, a new PBS documentary...shining talents as hometown jazz legend Duke Ellington, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall...
Profile: Reflections on the life and music of Duke Ellington
; ...Reflections on the life and music of Duke Ellington Host: BROOKE GLADSTONE Time: 1:00-2:00 PM BROOKE GLADSTONE, host: This week, Duke Ellington's long-heralded 100th birthday came...still breathing would not have hurt Duke Ellington. All he needed to make music was breath...
DUKE ELLINGTON'S MUSIC COMES ALIVE ON THE `A TRAIN'
; ...glitter and numerous clothing changes, Duke Ellington's granddaughter, Mercedes Ellington...anecdotes and family history, with Duke Ellington compositions and with her own choreography...but still contagious. In his career, Duke Ellington wrote more than 3,000 compositions...
'Beyond Category: Musical Genius of Duke Ellington'; Ambitious
; ...Beyond Category: Musical Genius of Duke Ellington'; Ambitious exhibition. at Museum of...Beyond Category: The Musical Genius of Duke Ellington," has finally arrived in Los Angeles...powerful specter of Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington that permeates the area. The exhibition...