It’s hard to find biographies that are well-written, and autobiographies tend to be even worse, but if I had to choose…well, you can’t beat the person’s own words.
This here is Duke Ellington’s autobiography, and I have to say he was truly a great person. Not so much for what he did, which was huge, but for what he was like as a person.
His mind was so wide open about music and he never once in the 544 pages of the book says anything negative or derogatory about anyone or anything.
He doesn’t talk so much about music or his music as if he’s a musical genius. It’s evident music is his passion, yet he talks about his life as if it were a string of accidents, good luck, and the result of having fun with the piano. Of course he worked hard at his music, but in his words, it wasn’t work to him. Truly a blessed life.
