****How much of Ellington was Strayhorn****
One of the perennial and most interesting questions among jazz lovers. For the answer, I suppose one need look no further than the simple fact that Ellington's signature tune "Take The A Train" was composed by Strayhorn. In fact it's more complicated than that. Ellington considered Strayhorn his "right arm" and, while he did publicly give give him credit, he also took credit that rightly belonged to Strayhorn. Ellington was the leader and had the vision for the band and the music; Strayhorn contributed a lot of the composing and arranging skill.
One of the perennial and most interesting questions among jazz lovers. For the answer, I suppose one need look no further than the simple fact that Ellington's signature tune "Take The A Train" was composed by Strayhorn. In fact it's more complicated than that. Ellington considered Strayhorn his "right arm" and, while he did publicly give give him credit, he also took credit that rightly belonged to Strayhorn. Ellington was the leader and had the vision for the band and the music; Strayhorn contributed a lot of the composing and arranging skill.