Duke Ellington Plays "Take the 'A' Train"

Duke Ellington liked to call his music "American music" rather than "jazz." And he loved to describe those who impressed him as "beyond category." In this category, he included his musicians in his band, many of whom were well admired musicians in the jazz community. Occasionally, he would write a piece of music with their special signatures incorporated into the compositions. After 1939, he had the services of Billy Strayhorn who co-wrote many works with Ellington in a style that was so close to Duke's that to this day, nobody can tell where one started and the other finished a work.

One of Strayhorn's indelible works he wrote for Duke Ellington and his orchestra came early in 1940. "Take the 'A' Train" was based on Duke's characteristically vague instructions on how to get to a venue for a performance. Here we have a 1965 performance that sports a swinging ensemble with Ernie Sheppard playing bass and singing as well!