Jazz Nobility

Paul Mercer Ellington will lead the Duke Ellington Orchestra in an evening of classic jazz at Richardson Auditorium in Princeton Feb. 9.

By: Susan Van Dongen
   There is at least one royal family in America, and its name is Ellington.
   For more than 50 years, Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was at the forefront of American jazz. A natural musician and prolific composer — with some 5,000 songs to his name — Ellington also had a keen eye and ear for talent, intuitive musical intellect and an almost regal aura. He must have possessed some genius genes as well, because he passed this along to his son, Mercer Ellington, who mastered composition and arranging at an early age, penning such jazz standards as "Things Ain’t What They Used to Be" and "Blue Serge."

"Paul
Paul Mercer Ellington first toured with his father, Mercer Ellington, when he was 8 and took over as bandleader of his grandfather’s orchestra when he was barely 18.


   Now there’s another generation of jazz nobility. Paul Mercer Ellington first toured with his father when he was 8 and took over as bandleader of his grandfather’s orchestra when he was barely 18.
   With six years and hundreds of national and international performances behind him, Paul Mercer Ellington leads the Duke Ellington Orchestra in an evening of classic jazz at Richardson Auditorium in Princeton Feb. 9.
   Taking a break from a rehearsal, Mr. Ellington speaks about his father’s sudden death in 1996. The youthful Ellington had barely finished two semesters at the Manhattan School of Music when the conductor’s baton was handed to him. He also was helping to care for his mother, a former model who had been stricken with multiple sclerosis years before.
   "More than anything, we were just mourning my dad," Mr. Ellington says, in a dulcet voice. "They were always so close, and when my dad died her situation got worse."
   Mr. Ellington has several siblings, some of whom are much older than he, but there was never a question that he would be the one to pick up where his father and grandfather had left off.
   Everybody knew the plan was for me to lead the orchestra," he says. "We just didn’t expect it to happen so soon."
   Taken aback by the young man who was only halfway through his freshman year at college, there was grumbling from the veteran "sidemen," some of whom had even worked with his grandfather. But, perhaps inheriting some of The Duke’s famous charm, Mr. Ellington straightened things out diplomatically.
   "The guys who are with us now are great," he says. "We don’t have any problems."
   Born in Denmark in 1978, Mr. Ellington showed signs of musical talent as a toddler. When other children his age were entering second grade, young Paul accompanied his father on tour to Japan, an event that proved to be the official beginning of his musical career.
   "My father turned to me and said ‘This is all yours. Make sure you keep it going,’ " Mr. Ellington says. "He just grabbed me to go to Japan, and when (the orchestra wasn’t playing) we’d hang out on the bus or in the hotel. I’d see the same people every day, and they became my family."
   Mr. Ellington’s musical education came partly through observing his father compose and play music, and through his own hard work. Non-touring moments were filled with piano lessons and studies in music theory. Mercer Ellington was also known for being a savvy businessman and made sure his son understood the business of music, as well as the creative side. Knowing the importance of the keyboard for a composer and arranger, Mercer Ellington encouraged Paul to focus on piano, although the youngster had been experimenting with drums, brass and electric guitar.

"The
The youthful Ellington had barely finished two semesters at the Manhattan School of Music when the conductor’s baton was handed to him.


   At the time of his father’s death in 1996, Mr. Ellington had already begun to cultivate his own musical personality and tastes, having written and recorded one of the compositions on the band’s 1996 album, Only God Can Make A Tree. Since then, he has continued to explore compositional boundaries with his writing, which he says is very different from his father and grandfather’s.
   "I like to incorporate funk, acid jazz and rock (in my writing)," he says. "I’d also really love to do some film scoring."
   Paul Mercer Ellington’s live performance and conducting credits include concerts at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, N.Y., the annual Newport Jazz festival (in Rhode Island), several lengthy tours to Japan, Spain and France, as well as gigs at New York’s famed Blue Note and Birdland nightclubs.
   Only 24, Mr. Ellington has decades to sharpen his craft, perhaps creating his own distinct sound. Recording new material with the orchestra is also one of his hopes for the future. Although the band records its live performances, they haven’t put out a studio release for some years.
   "We’ll do a record when the time is right," he says. "I can wait 10, 20, even 30 years."
   Although he tries to work some of his own compositions into an evening with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, he acknowledges, without bitterness, that audiences come out to hear The Duke.
   "They’re coming to listen to Granddad’s music," Mr. Ellington says. "People ask if we ever get tired of playing the same songs, and sometimes we do. It’s like that with everyone, though, even the biggest pop or rock star who goes out on tour and does their hit song a million times.
   "But really, how can you not like ‘Take The ‘A’ Train’? I’m just happy to see people in the audience relaxing and enjoying the music. I’ll always be at home on stage with the Duke Ellington Orchestra."
The Duke Ellington Orchestra, conducted by Paul Mercer Ellington, plays Richardson Auditorium on the Princeton University Campus, Feb. 9, 8 p.m. Tickets cost $17-$26; students $10. For information, call (609) 258-5000.