Billy Strayhorn's Influence On Jazz Music

The Legacy of Billy Strayhorn

Jazz music emerged from the city of New Orleans at the beginning of the 20th century. By the 1920s, jazz music had swept through the nation and became one of the most popular genres of music in the country. There were many different forms of jazz, and in the 1930s, a new form emerged known as "swing". The swing era lasted from 1935-1945, and was arguably the most popular era of jazz in the U.S. The Swing Era also known as the "Big Band Era" is characterized by the large size of the bands or orchestras. There were many popular and successful big bands that arose, and in New York, one such band was known as the "Duke Ellington Orchestra". Ellington's orchestra lasted over fifty years, and recorded some of America's

greatest music. The group would not have been nearly as successful as it was if it weren't for legendary composer and arranger, Billy Strayhorn. Strayhorn became a key figure in the Ellington Orchestra, and during his time as a musician, he created many influential compositions that had a huge impact on Ellington's band, future jazz musicians and musicians of other genres, and on jazz as a whole.
Billy Strayhorn became interested in music at a very young age. It was his grandmother that served as his primary influence that sparked his interest in music. This influence sparked the creative genius that Strayhorn possessed, and upon returning to his hometown of Pittsburgh, he began his musical career by enrolling in the Pittsburgh Musical Institute where he studied classical music. He originally wanted to pursue a career in classical music, but was soon exposed to the harsh racial reality that only saw white classical musicians. Still, with his love for music, Strayhorn soon was introduced to the music of jazz pianists: Art Tatum and Teddy Wilson. Strayhorn began to make a name for himself as a pianist and a composer, and at the age of 23, Strayhorn got the chance he was waiting for to take his career to the next level.
In December of 1938, at the age of 23, Strayhorn met with Duke Ellington who was in town for a performance. During their meeting, which took place in a dressing room after one of Ellington's performances, Strayhorn exhibited his talent for playing the piano, and arranging pieces. He first began by playing one of Ellington's songs identically to how Ellington did in concert, and then he played his own version of the song. Ellington was so impressed with the talent of this young man that he later invited Strayhorn to join his orchestra and to meet him back in New York. Ellington left Strayhorn with subway directions on how to find him in New York. Presented with this golden opportunity to play with a well-established jazz figure, Strayhorn couldn't pass up on this opportunity. The directions that Ellington gave Strayhorn, or rather one of the directions "take the A Train" would be the name of the next song that Strayhorn would compose in an attempt to impress Ellington. This song would later serve as the best-known theme of the Ellington Orchestra as well as a jazz standard. Not only that, but it became one of the most popular and recognized songs of the 20th century and was still played by many notable musicians well after it was written.
Strayhorn soon became a key element of the Ellington Orchestra and became the co-composer and collaborator with Ellington. Strayhorn played with Ellington for nearly three decades, and during this time, he composed hundreds of songs and suites individually and in collaboration with Ellington that "launched a productive recording period, regarded by many scholars to be the most significant and creative phase of Ellington's career" (The Duke Ellington Center For The Arts, p1). Together, the two became an impressive collaborating duo that wrote many songs and suites that would be jazz standards, as well as pieces that would be used in musicals, movies, etc. These jazz standards served as a huge impact to increase the popularity of jazz music to the population and inspired other jazz musicians to make contributions to jazz.
Strayhorn's influence on jazz can be seen by the effect that his compositions had on other musicians at the time, and in years that would follow.

At a very young age, Strayhorn wrote a song called "Life is Lonely", which would later be renamed "Lush Life". This piece later became a jazz standard and is largely recognized as a one of Strayhorn's greatest creations. This song was such an influence that it led to many notable jazz musicians such as Nat King Cole, and John Coltrane to make recordings of this piece. Frank Sinatra was even noted to have tried to do a recording of the song, but gave up on it due to the song's unusual structure. Although this song was written in the 30s, famous musicians and vocalists are still performing renditions of this song to this

day.
Similarly, "Take the 'A' Train" became one of the most popular songs of the jazz era. This song is Strayhorn's most recognizable work, as well as the most well known song of the Ellington Orchestra. It was so popular at the time that it became a "radio theme song" (Lung, p1). This song quickly became a jazz standard and influenced many other jazz musicians such as Ella Fitzgerald and Cab Calloway. It not only was popular in the U.S., but its popularity spread all over the world. The recording of the song also impacted Ray Nance's career, as his trumpet solo of the song became his best-known solo of his career. Like with "Lush Life", and several other Strayhorn compositions, "Take the 'A' Train" is still cherished today as an important and influential piece.
Strayhorn not only influenced musicians indirectly through his compositions and arrangements, but also influenced musicians directly.

One musician that he had a major influence on was a vocalist named Lena Horne. Strayhorn used his classical background to help improve the singing style and technique of Horne. They developed a very close friendship, and Horne even sang some of the compositions that Strayhorn wrote such as "Something to Live For" and "Maybe."

Lastly, Strayhorn had a big impact on jazz as a whole. At a time, where jazz entered the new swing era, the bands were being changed from the combos to big bands. The pieces that Strayhorn wrote and arranged were written in a genius way that helped to showcase the individual talents of the band members. Ellington's Orchestra is known for having sidemen who were accomplished soloists. Strayhorn's compositions helped to usher in the new swing era musical style, and along with Ellington created many jazz standards for this new form of jazz

music.
In conclusion, Billy Strayhorn is one of the greatest composers and arrangers of the Jazz Era. His partnership with Duke Ellington created the most influential duos in jazz that together produced hundreds of songs. Many of these songs became jazz standards and impacted and influenced many jazz musicians of the time. Not only that, but Strayhorn's compositions influenced a lot of musicians from other genres and from future generations. Even to this day, his songs are highly regarded and many artists and musicians are still performing his pieces. Billy Strayhorn will always be remembered and cherished for his contributions to jazz music and other musicians.
Bibliography
"Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn." Duke Ellington Center for the Arts. N.p., n.d.
Web. 21 Nov. 2015.
Ellington, Duke. Music is My Mistress. New York: Da Capo Press, 1973. "Billy
Strayhorn"
Hasse, John. Beyond Category: The Life and Genius of Duke Ellington. New York and
London: Simon and Schuster, 1993. "Renewing Creativity"
Lung, Sam. The Billy Strayhorn Collection. N.p.: Wise Publications, 2014. Print.