By the time Duke Ellington had embarked on ambitious projects such as Jump for Joy he was immensly aided by the arranging and composing talents of Billy Strayhorn. Section 2 will discuss Billy Strayhorn's reltationship with Duke Ellington, his working and personal relationship with Ellington. Needless to say, as Ellington often did, Staryhorn's contributions were an important part of projects leading from the early 40's when Strayhorn and Ellington first met until Strayhorn's untimely death in 1967. Ellington and critics often said that it was impossible to tell where Strayhorn's compositions began, where Ellington's ended and vice versa. The interviews in this segment will amplify and hopefully add further substance to this still quote-unquote mysterious process.
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Revised: January 5, 2000