The Legacy of Billy Strayhorn, part I: Lush Life, Take the A Train and more

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Billy Strayhorn had one of the most unusual careers in jazz. Today his genius as a composer of jazz and song is uniformly acknowledged, but that was not the case during his lifetime. Strayhorn spent his entire career as in Duke Ellington's words, "his composing and arranging partner."

Many of his most famous creations were often attributed to Ellington, and Strayhorn rarely sought the limelight. It wasn't until several decades after his death in 1967 that jazz writers and scholars began researching his contribution to jazz and sorting out, when possible, which Ellington tunes were largely Duke's work and which were Strayhorn's.

In this hour you'll hear early Strayhorn compositions, including "Something To Live For," "Lush Life," "A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing," "Daydream," "Passion Flower" and Ellington's theme song "Take The A Train." Rare interview clips from Strayhorn and Mercer Ellington are heard as well.

Featured artists include Gerry Mulligan, Bill Charlap, Zoot Sims, Art Farmer, Ken Peplowski, George Mraz and the Gypsy Jazz virtuoso Joscho Stephan.

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