Last week, at a loss for something to read and feeling more than a little guilty about not reading what had been a gift from a very good friend, I eventually got around to it and, you know what? I couldn't put it down!
It is not just the definitive work on Strayhorn but, in some ways, it's Ellington's too.
Hadju, during the course of his research, spoke to many musicians who knew or worked with both Ellington and Strayhorn and these interviews helped to add a degree of clarity to that grey area as to who wrote what in their many collaborations.
Strayhorn comes across as a caring person, who neither flaunted his sexuality nor tried to disguise it. An aesthete with a vast knowledge of art, classical music, literature, cuisine - he loved cooking - and, of course, jazz.
Despite being able to compose or arrange a piece at short notice, Ellington would sometimes play something over the phone to him and say 'I need to finish this new composition but can't find an ending', Strayhorn, sometimes within minutes, would finish the piece off for him.
The harrowing details of his final days/weeks (Billy, aged 51, died of cancer on May 31, 1967) brought tears to everyone's eyes - except his own.
It's the story of a musical genius living in the shadow of another musical genius. Neither would have been the same without the other. Lance
Hadju, David (1996) Lush Life. Granta Books ISBN 1-86207-955-5
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