10 years playing with an 18-piece ensemble seems like but a stitch in time for GRAMMY- and JUNO-nominated composer-cum-bandleader Darcy James Argue. Sure, this year was his best for winning, receiving both the Doris Duke Artist Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship. But as bright as those gongs are, 2015 isn't halfway done arguing his can't stop/won't stop attitude, soldiering on with that trademark sound of his nonpareil ensemble, Darcy James Argue's Secret Society.
It was in 1956, in Newport nonetheless, that Duke Ellington and his Orchestra gave a most landmark performance at the Jazz Festival. Per NPR, historians mark this as the pivotal moment of the Duke's 50 plus year career, with the centerpiece being "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" accompanied by saxophonist Paul Gonsalves.
Here, then, is today's news.