VOA标准英语2010-Legacy of Duke Ellington Remembered

Jazz greats Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong meet at New York's Madison Square Garden after a tribute to Ellington, 23 February 1970.

April is designated as "Jazz Appreciation¹ Month" in the United States. It celebrates this unique American music form and honors the great American jazz musicians who revealed it to the world. One of the most influential² figures in jazz is a native Washingtonian, Duke Ellington. He is also considered one of the twentieth century's best known African-American personalities³, who influenced millions of people at home and around the world. April 29 marks his 111th birthday.

Many agree that Duke Ellington is Washington DC.  This is where he was born, as Edward Kennedy Ellington, and where his career began. As a composer and band leader, he brought jazz to the world.  During the Cold War in the 1960's and 70's, he was one of the numerous American jazz artists who traveled to Eastern Europe, the Soviet⁴ Union, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America. In 1969, president Richard Nixon presented Duke Ellington with the Medal of Freedom. In his 50 year career, Ellington also received the Pulitzer Prize and 13 Grammy awards.

Today, Mercedes Ellington, Duke Ellington's granddaughter, keeps her grandfather's legacy⁶ alive as President of the Duke Ellington Center for the Arts. "The music of Duke Ellington is of such a structure that it crosses generations and puts everybody on an even scale. Duke Ellington used to be very charming and very gracious, and he appreciated his career to such an extent that, when he was invited to play in different countries, he would compose a suite⁷ dedicated⁸ to that country. He loved to go to places where he was not supposed to go. He never labeled his music. It was not jazz, he said it was 'American music,'" she said.

 

Duke Ellington tore down racial barriers, playing to both African-American and white audiences, a rarity during those racially-divided times.

"It is just proving that the commonality between people is one of the things that I think Ellington wanted to accentuate⁹. He was always on the path of acknowledging what was really happening in the world. The ideal of people being drawn¹⁰ together through music was his goal. He was constantly writing, every day, even when he was ill and dying in the hospital, he had a piano at the foot of his bed," she said.

Mercedes Ellington remembers rare moments spent with her grandfather. "We never really saw him, because the orchestra was constantly on tour. The only time when we would see them would be when they came to New York. They would play at the Apollo, the Rainbow Room, and we had those intimate family gatherings¹¹ backstage in the dressing¹² rooms," she said.

As a young boy, Duke Ellington was more interested in baseball than in piano lessons. But at that time, people respected and admired musicians.

The ladies were drawn to piano players and musicians. And as his interest in ladies increased, so did his interest in music. He was driven by music and by women," Ellington said.

Duke Ellington started playing the piano at the age of seven, and by the time he was fifteen, he was already composing.

Mercedes Ellington says her grandfather was not really a grandfatherly type.  He did not want people to know his age. "I think he was vain enough that he did not want all of his lady friends and some of his fans to know that he was old enough to have grandchildren, so he asked me to call him Uncle Edward," she recalled.

Mercedes traveled with the band to Russia in the mid⁵ 1970's, and got to see her grandfather's popularity first-hand.

"The people were running on the tarmac alongside the plane as we landed, with bouquets¹³ of flowers. They had been listening to the music of Duke Ellington through Radio Free America. There were enough Russian people who knew about the music and had secret recordings¹⁴ of the Ellington band. And there was great reception everywhere we went," she said.

The musical revival¹⁵, Sophisticated Ladies, based on Duke Ellington's music, has just opened at the historic Lincoln Theatre in Washington DC, where Ellington used to perform. The original Broadway production from 1981 was nominated for eight Tony awards and won two. Sophisticated Ladies stars famous Broadway choreographer¹⁶ and dancer Maurice Hines. Since Mercedes Ellington is herself a professional choreographer, she is the artistic¹⁷ consultant¹⁸ for this performance, which celebrates life and work of her grandfather.

"He lived to work," she said. "When he traveled and toured, that's when he was in heaven."

Duke Ellington wrote more than 3,000 compositions during his career.  After his death in 1974, his son Mercer Ellington, Mercedes' father, took over the orchestra.  The Duke Ellington legacy continues to live and will endure for generations to come.

 

1 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

2 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

3 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

4 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

5 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

6 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

7 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

8 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

9 accentuate   

v.着重，强调

参考例句：

• She has beautiful eyes, so we should accentuate them in the makeup.她眼睛很美丽，我们在化妆时应该突出她的眼睛。
• Mrs Obamas speeches rarely accentuate the positive.奥巴马夫人的演讲很少强调美国积极的一面。

10 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

11 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

12 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

13 bouquets   

n.花束( bouquet的名词复数 )；（酒的）芳香

参考例句：

• The welcoming crowd waved their bouquets. 欢迎的群众摇动着花束。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• As the hero stepped off the platform, he was surrounded by several children with bouquets. 当英雄走下讲台时，已被几名手持花束的儿童围住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

15 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

16 choreographer   

n.编舞者

参考例句：

• She is a leading professional belly dancer, choreographer, and teacher. 她既是杰出的专业肚皮舞演员，也是舞蹈设计者和老师。 来自辞典例句
• It'stands aside, my choreographer of grace, and blesses each finger and toe. 它站在一旁，我优雅的舞蹈指导，并祝福每个指尖与脚尖。 来自互联网

17 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

18 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。