Why this tune?
April 30 is International Jazz Day, established by UNESCO in 2011 to celebrate this Black
American music we call jazz and its role in global diplomacy around the world. The date was chosen in part to honor Duke Ellington, who was born on April 29, 1899. I thought it appropriate to mark the day and the Duke’s 125th birthday with one of his loveliest ballads.
“Prelude to a Kiss” is the 46th most popular jazz standard according to jazzstandards.com,
with more than 500 recordings since Ellington’s first ones in 1938. My short version here only scratches the surface of how to explore and interpret this complex composition.
Duke was born and raised in Washington, DC, so we always feel an obligation to include his
music in our performances around the area. I joke that it’s actually a requirement to play Ellington in DC, to avoid sanctions from the local jazz police.
Happy International Jazz Day! Please check out more jazz music today (and really all year)
Tunes On Tuesday Reel
Duke Ellington
Oren Levine, jazz pianist and songwriter 