Duke (The)

1955 Dave Brubeck
(A tribute to Duke Ellington)

irst recording and first release by The Dave Brubeck Quartet (August 8, 1955 / 1955)

“The Duke” [ edit] “”The Duke” is a tribute to Duke Ellington, recorded with the quartet in a previous album. It is the only completely written, unimprovised piece in the album.”

‘Dave Brubeck said this about “The Duke”: “The idea for ‘The Duke’ came to me when I was in the car, taking my son Chris to nursery school. The original title was: ‘The Duke Meets Darius Milhaud.’ When I first wrote it, I didn’t understand how complex it was. It goes through all twelve keys in the first eight bars. It hits all the roots.’