2 30 - North Shore News -— Friday, February 11, 2000 sweet thunder Such Aen Aldcroft pays tribute to the music of Duke Ellington Jehn Goodman This Week Editor . goodman@nsnews.com *] was with Hercules and Cadmus once When in a wood of Crete they bay’d the bear With hounds of Sparta... I never heard so musical a dis- courd, such sweet thunder.” — Shunespeave, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Mi kkk Ken Aldcroft Triot 1 — His Mistress Never Sleeps — A tribute to the life and music of Duke Ellington (Trio Records TRP-003) The first song Billy Strayhorn wrote for Duke Ellington was “Take the A Train” in early 1939. The young Pittsburgh musician was showing off his chops plus he was telling his new boss he knew haw to find Ellington’s digs Harlem. Strayhorn “found the apartment and the nwo men began « professional relation- . ship that would last for more than 30 years. Ellington and Strayhorn were as different as night and day. David Hajdu puts their personalities in perspec- tive in his highly enjoya ixtography Lush Life: A LAURENTIAN BANK OF CANADA ography of Billy Strayhorn (Farrar Straus Giroux 1996): “Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington inhabited the same world, but each for his own reasons and on his own terms, and you could see the difference at the Hickory House. Between 1G and 11 p.m. once or twice a week, Strayhorn slipped in alone or, less frequently with a friend or two... Strayhorn always sat at the very last stool on the right side of the U bar, where he was tucked away and turned at right angles to both the perform- ers and the customers. He had eye contact only with the bartender... Ellington came in around midnight three or four times a week. Surrounded by an entourage Ellington also had a spot: the table for eight at the centre of the room.” Strayhorn would wave to the table and _ stop by for a few minutes on his \ way out of the club. the fatest release from Vancouver jazz musician Ken Aldcroft pays tribute to Ellington and, by his choice of selections, Billy Strayhorn. It is impossible to extri- cate one man’s contribution from the other bur by choos- 459% 1S-maonths J Reinvestable after 60 ‘days without pennity*. * reinvested in an equal os loager term GiC * Inlerest rate Sud}ect to chang? witho.t slice GUITARIST Ken Aldcroft and his trio + one (Brian Harding — trombone, Bernie Aral — drums and, not shown Graham Ord — saxophones) played selections from their Ellington tribute Jan..28 at the Sugar Refinery. ing compositions from two late period Ellington albums Aldcroft brings the Strayhorn story front and centre. His Mistress Never Sleeps reworks material from ovo special Effington projects: Such Sweet Thunder, the Shakespearean Suite Ellington and Strayhorn were commissioned to write for Stratford, Ontario's Shakespeare festival in 1957 and The Far East Suite, intla- enced by a trip Ellingten’s band took courtesy of the U.S. State Department in 1963. Such Sweet Thunder is one of the duo’s masterworks. Strayhorn, well-versed in Shakespeare and classical cul- ture in general, received equal writer's credit with Ellington for the first time in his career. Band member Jimmy Hamilton told Hajdu “We used to call him Shakespeare — that was one ‘of his nicknames. Not when he was around, I’m talking about.” Aldcroft has selected four songs from Such Sweet Thunder for the new CD: “Sonnet for Caesar”, “Sonnet to Hank Cinq”, “Lady Mac” and Sonnet in Search of a Moor”, Stravyhorn’s sublime mix of jazz and classical knowledge was perfect for Ellington who fiked lo write music for individual ssusicians. Aldcroft and company get lots of room to stretch out in what Ellington liked to call the “jazz idiom.” The first time Strayhorn met See Liupassibte Page Ellington and Strayhorn enjoying the sights of Paris in 1961. Future of your Love Life. Is Your Love Written in the Stars? Enhance your Romance this Valentines. Day! . The North Shore’s newest New-Age Gift Store Offers Personalized Insight on Compatibility, Dates, Gifts and the What to give thar lovely Leo in your life? When to approach that tanralizing Taurus you’ve had your eye on? Why is thac caring Cancerian your best match? The answers to these and more questions can be found ar UTOPIA, a fascinating new shop in the lower Lonsdale area of North Vancouver. In Astrology, Venus is the Planet of Love, and Mars is the Planet of Passion. In addition to the Sun Sign that daily horoscopes are based on, everyone has a Venus (Love) Sign and a Mars (Passion} Sign. Understanding your loved one’s particular mix of Venus and Mars Signs can enhance your romance in a big way! Using the loca- tions of the planets at any given time, third-generation astrologer Donna King _ GRAND OPENING NEWS photo Sprout www.eyeteazer.com/sprout Photo Som Shaw from Lush Life by David Hajdu (Far sr Straus Slroux 1996) Advertorial can also defermine the perfect day for a” successful wedding or special date. © : fer those of you who reluctantly alone on . Valentines Day, UTOPIA offers a iccvion of books containing interesting” love spells. Skeptics may scoff but. Donna : is quick to point out that spells are simply a dramatic and often very éffective form of. affirming your intention. By exploring and stating your desire, you are more likely to experience your qutcome. Keep in mind ® f that this type of speil is more likely to work: if you ask for the right person tc come to ; you. If the target of your. affections : ‘is © already involved in a relationship, ask for.. someone fully available! 7 s . Destiriy and fate are out-of-date in, our” taodern world, but the excitement of.’ magic never grows old, especially whe nit. comes to Love! ; <<