DESCRIPTION:
Black & Tan Fantasy. Take 2 (the best one) (composed by Duke Ellington) (arr. Per Gade).
PER GADE'S JAZZBAND 1966.

Those recordings are from 1966 and done i Denmark with very young Danish Jazz Musicians who were only part time professionals. Per Gade was an Art Director in advertising business during daytime and he had only played the trombone for 5 years as a hobby when this recordings was done. - It was a older friend, the famous jazz musician and band leader Chris Barber, who inspired Per Gade with his performances of Duke Ellington's music.

In only two different sessions the band recorded 25 different tunes (slow and fast) which were all arranged music by Per Gade). Only one take was recorded of each tune.
Recorded at "Borups Højskole, Copenhagen, the concert hall" in winter 1966 and early spring 1967.

Unfortunately this band did only existed in a few months. Some members just wanted - and as fast as possible - to get out in jazz clubs with gigs and spotlights to have lots of beers and girls, while Per Gade insisted the band should rehears and build up a repertoire of well arranged tunes, done over a period of approx 9 months (a babies time) before the band took professional gigs and established itself as a better band.
But under pressure from the drummer, Per Gade, however, arranged some gigs around Denmark in jazz clubs, to please the thirst among some band members. But one day the drummer came again and told they could have a contract in a big Beer Hall called "Vin & Ølgod" north of Copenhagen, called "Dyrehavsbakken", and the contract was for all summer. But it was a hall for drunks and those to become drunk..., very fast, so Per Gade said: "please..., no, no no..., it will spoil the band. Let's wait a few more months for better chances...!" - But the band members took the Beer Hall job, and with a other trombone player (Per Gade's friend Erling Kroner). When the summer season was over and the Beer Hall closed down until the next summer, the band was closed down too and never came alive or live again! Unfortunately, because it could have had a future if... - At this time Per Gade decided to prepare for a better life in music, outside "Beer Halls" and for more comprehensive music education. Approximately a year later he passed the difficult entrance examination to THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC" and have been a professional musician ever since, while the other band member are still taxi drivers, salesmen, office workers, unemployed, etc. at day time, and still today here some 45 years later, while Per Gade has been around the world with his music and good incomes.

ABOUT THIS RECORDINGS FROM 1966:
All musical arrangements are done by Per . At that time he could not yet read written music but know about chords and chord changes in jazz.... But he played each instrument part (the trumpet or clarinet) on his trombone for the players to copy, and according to the arrangement he had done at home, and then told the band how to play the pieces of music, the general way jazz and head arrangements are done everywhere in the world.

Trombone, leader: Per Gade;
Trumpet, Niels Olsen;
Clarinet, Claus Forchhammer;
Bjo. Palle "Bager" Nilesen;
Bass: Preben Lindhardt;
Drms, Wigandt Milo.
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The music here is a story of "Black and Tan people, a beautiful piece of music by the famous DUKE ELLINGTON written around 1929. "The Duke" made his succes at "The Cotton Club" in New York. When he later left for Hollywood, his position was taken over by Cab Calloway.

The abolition of slavery and the consequences of World War 1 encouraged industrialization and ultimately attracted many African Americans to northern cities. There was a huge migration of emancipated African Americans that encouraged the idea of racial equality in America. The still racially conservative southern white Americans did not allow for African Americans to exercise their rights, and this also encouraged the move towards Northern cities. This gave rise to a new ambitious mass culture for African Americans.

THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE, also known as the "New Negro Movement, influenced not only local New Yorkers, but reached to affect black artist around the world such as the black Parisians in France from African and Caribbean colonies.[3] This revolutionary artistic period existed from the 1920's and extended throughout the early to mid 1930's. The location, New York City, was a tremendously significant place in expanding the "Negro" middle class.

"The short film Black and Tan" (done in Holywood with Duke Ellington and his Musicians, can be seen as a prime example of the coalescence of White and Black artists to come together and make art. The white director Dudley Murphy used Duke Ellington as his star as he performed his Jazz musical masterpieces in the film and starred as the main character in love and struggle.
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