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The
sculpture of Edward Kennedy Ellington at 110th Street and Fifth
Avenue is the first monument in New York City dedicated to an African
American and the first memorial in the United States to Ellington. A
composer, orchestra conductor, and musician, "Duke"
Ellington elevated jazz to perhaps the most American of art forms.
Colorful, blues-oriented players such as Johnnie Hodges and Cootie
Williams played with him, helping to shape his style and inspire his
compositions. The December 1927 opening at the Cotton Club – the
showplace of Harlem speakeasies – put the Duke Ellington
Orchestra on the jazz map. With Harlem and the Cotton Club as home
base, Ellington began radio broadcasts and recorded for United
States, English, and French labels. Between 1930 and 1942 he was at
his most creative, composing such classics as "Take the
A-Train," "Mood Indigo," "Sophisticated
Lady," "In a Sentimental Mood," and "Don't Get
Around Much Anymore." Increasingly recognized as a major
American composer, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969.
On
July 1, 1997, Robert Graham's "Duke Ellington Memorial"
was unveiled at the northeast corner of Central Park. Politicians,
dignitaries, and Harlem neighborhood residents mingled in the noonday
sun to celebrate the culmination of an effort begun in 1979. Pianist
Bobby Short conceived the project, headed fundraising efforts, and
coordinated the selection of Robert Graham, a major sculptor of
public art, to design the memorial. The result is a bronze tableau
25-feet high, with an eight-foot tall sculpture of Ellington standing
next to a grand piano. Supporting Ellington and the piano are three
10-foot tall columns, each topped with three nude caryatid female
figures representing the muses. The monument itself is sited within
the Duke Ellington Circle. The Circle is comprised of two
semicircular plazas that are stepped to form an amphitheater. |
