'jazz is a good barometer of freedom.' #art/ #history: duke ellington (born #otd in 1899) was full of wisdom, music, mystery & optimism. both of his parents were pianists, so he was naturally drawn to the instrument. his mum & dad did more than refine young edward's ear, though.

they instilled in him a sense of elegance, of personal pride. this translated itself not into arrogance, but into a gentleness & introspection. early on in his career - which began when he was barely 18 years old - duke learned that he could bend people's perceptions by dressing

& behaving in certain ways. he cultivated his dapper persona in defiance of a racist public's misconceptions about black men. this was also a form of activism. duke wanted to be seen first as a musician. he could then reach them in a way that words don't.

' you can say anything you want on the trombone', he said, 'but you gotta be careful with words.' this philosophy served him well. the reaction to ellington's 'black, brown & beige' showcase was positively cataclysmic. this was an important triumph for duke. 'the music of my

race is something more than the american idiom. it is the result of our transplantation to american soil & was our reaction in the plantation days to the tyranny we endured. what we could not say openly, we expressed in music.'

your homework? watch 'symphony in black'. the emotions duke's music pulls from billie holiday are jaw-dropping.

thanks you guys, @danielk01535028 & @russglos, for retweeting the more polished of my ellingtons.

little aside for my own purposes (nobody cares, i know!): my dearly beloved & long departed pops was the one who introduced me to duke ellington. how i wish we'd had the chance to spend an entire day spinning duke's discs & dissecting 'money jungle'.

the last duke...