"Black, Brown and Beige" | |
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Song by Duke Ellington | |
Written | 1943 |
Genre | Jazz symphony |
Composer(s) | Duke Ellington |
Black, Brown and Beige is an extended jazz work written by Duke Ellington for his first concert at Carnegie Hall, on January 23, 1943. It tells the history of African Americans and was the composer's attempt to transform attitudes about race, elevate American music, specifically jazz, to be seen as on par with classical European music, and challenge America to live up to its founding principles of freedom and equality for all.[1]