Read 3 attachments (Ellington The Debate in Jazz 1943.pdf only read no. 43: The Debate in Jazz). Two other readings read it all. Some questions to ponder as you read. What aspects of Ellington and his music-making were so controversial within discourse around jazz? How did he respond to this discourse and challenge some of its underlying assumptions? What kinds of parallels between the music of Such Sweet Thunder and Shakespeares work can you hear, if any? How do you see Such Sweet Thunder fitting into the wider debates about jazz and Ellington outlined in the readings? What kinds of political and/or artistic statements do you think Ellington and his musical collaborators were making in adopting the work of such a canonically white figure as Shakespeare?
