The Cambridge Companion to Duke Ellington edited by Manhattan School of Music professor Edward Green is to be published next month. Amazon UK are giving a 31 December publication date.

A collection of essays surveying Ellington’s career, music, and place in popular culture, the 320-page Cambridge University Press paperback sets Ellington’s life and work in context, provides new information about his early years and an extensive artistic profile of the composer and also includes chapters on Ellington’s approach to song-writing, jazz piano, descriptive music, and the blues. Contributors include Ellington’s nephew Stephen James, David Berger, Brian Priestley, Dan Morgenstern, Walter van de Leur, and Will Friedwald.

Duke Ellington, above. Photo: Wikipedia