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Article: Ellington; Duke left his mark on American century Long- overdue respect has come to one of our most important composers. This week a Minnesota Orchestra program may help answer a lingering question: How will his idiosyncratic vision last into the next 100 years?(ENTERTAINMENT)
- Article from:
- Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
- Article date:
- April 25, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Star Tribune Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Duke Ellington's spirit, wherever it resides these days, might be especially cheerful right now.
Immaculately dressed, leading a terrific band in some sort of Cotton Club in the sky - and telling all the angels that he loves them madly - Ellington's spirit would have noted that on April 13, some 25 years after his death, the Pulitzer Prize board awarded him a special citation for "his indelible contribution to art and culture through the medium of jazz."
It was different in 1965, when the Pulitzers' music committee recommended Ellington for an award but was turned down, prompting Ellington's often-quoted comment, "Fate is being very kind to me; Fate ...