Starred Review Jazz continues to attract picture-book artists, who find in the improvisational music a unique opportunity to let their artistic imaginations soar. Too often, however, they soar well beyond the reach of a young audience. Not so with this swinging introduction to the life and music of Duke Ellington. Andrea Davis Pinkney's jaunty, slangy text tells a story and does it with a rhythm and style that manage to capture Ellington's era without sounding silly to today's kids. Describing Duke at 19, she says, He had fine-as-pie looks and flashy threads. He was a ladies' man with flair to spare. Zipping through Ellington's childhood in Washington, D.C., his early disenchantment with the parlor music of the day, weighed down by its umpy-dump beat, and his introduction to ragtime, the text takes Ellington and his young band to Harlem, where success awaited at the legendary Cotton Club. Brian Pinkney's paintings, gorgeous throughout, take center stage when the story turns to Ellington's music. Much has been written about Ellington's painterly approach to musical composition, the way he used his orchestra as an instrument, manipulating color, tone, and mood much as an artist uses oil on a canvas. Yet no one has brought that concept to vivid, stunning life more effectively than Pinkney. His wildly colored yet subtly harmonious paintings are the perfect accompaniment to the author's impressionistic descriptions of the sounds achieved by Ellington's soloists and by the band as a whole: a careening car from the Harlem-bound A train illustrates the subway beat of Sonny Greer's bass drum; curling kite tails emerge from Toby Hardwick's sax, a musical loop-de-loop with a serious twist. Text and art work in perfect harmony here, each creating additional layers of meaning that wouldn't have been possible without the presence of the other. And best of all, the joy in Ellington's music, and the joy his musicians felt in playing it, is apparent on every page.

Gr 1-5--A royal introduction to the piano prince. Told in a swingy conversational tone and highlighting the musician's childhood, early ragtime days, and stellar rise to popularity, playing at the Cotton Club and, later, Carnegie Hall, this is a jazzy treat. It is rare to find text that describes music so well. Phrases such as "sassy ride on his cymbal," "musical stream," and "purple dash of brass" carry the auditory experiences of the Duke's music right off the page. Young readers will find more than just a few facts here. They will learn what Duke Ellington did for the jazz world, how his music was played, and the legacy he left behind. Brian Pinkney's distinctive scratchboard, gouache and oil paintings are a harmonious complement to Andrea Pinkney's text. Bright, wild colors on soft neon backgrounds are beautifully balanced with black-and-white highlights. It is the blending of words, symbols, and pictures that bring this subject to life. A page of biographical information and impressive source notes conclude the presentation. This book swings. Don't miss it.--Beth Tegart, Oneida City Schools, NY

Written in a folksy, colloquial style, this biography touches briefly on Ellington's childhood, then concentrates on his development as a pianist, orchestra leader, and innovator of American music. The warmly colored, exquisitely designed scratchboard illustrations have a grand time evoking the sounds of Ellington's music. Back matter includes further biographical information and a videography--but no discography. Bib.

PLB 0-7868-2150-7 Addressing readers directly—"You ever heard of the jazz-playin' man, the man with the cats who could swing with his band?"—the Pinkneys embark on a cool and vibrant tour of Duke Ellington's musical career, from the pool hall ragtime that "set Duke's fingers to wiggling," to his 1943 Carnegie Hall concert, also giving some of the soloists that played with him, and songwriter Billy Strayhorn, a chance to step forward. Translated into color and visual forms, music floats and swirls through the scratchboard scenes, curling out of an antique radio, setting dancers to "cuttin' the rug" at the elegant Cotton Club and, of course, trailing behind an "A" train. Like Chris Raschka's solos, Charlie Parker Played Be-Bop (1992) and Mysterious Thelonius (1997), this loving tribute temptingly evokes the sound and spirit of a jazz pioneer. (Picture book/biography. 8-10)