Billy Strayhorn: A Lush Life Shrouded in Shadows

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Billy Strayhorn was arguably one of the 20th century's most gifted composers. His body of work, including such titles as "Lush Life" and "Take the 'A' Train," redefined popular jazz in the forties into the fifties. As Duke Ellington's right-hand man for 29 years, he either wrote or co-wrote most of Ellington's signature hits. He was a virtuoso pianist, genius composer and phenomenal arranger. Yet, he spent his life in relative obscurity, content to live in Ellington's shadow.

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The PBS series Independent Lens examines the life of this brilliant man in "Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life." It also offers reasons as to why he chose to live away from the limelight, and looks at the lasting impact of his work.

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It's been speculated that one reason Strayhorn was content to languish in the sidelines while Ellington's career made all the press, was largely due to the fact that Strayhorn was an openly gay black man living in a hugely homophobic, white-dominated society. Director Robert Levy, through interviews and archival footage, challenges this assumption. The documentary looks at the underground nature of gay society in the thirties and forties, and through the early sixties, and concludes that they were dangerous times for homosexuals, particularly gay black men. Still, Strayhorn never shied away from his openness about his sexuality, and it may be partly for that reason that he wasn't mentioned that much in the PR machinery.

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Then again, it may be that Duke Ellington's star power was just too overwhelming.In all the 29 years he worked with Ellington, Strayhorn never had a contract. And the music business being what it was then, it wasn't that unusual for composers to go uncredited in favor of the star's drawing power. Ellington would credit Strayhorn as a "co-writer" during live interviews and performances, but those acknowledgements went largely unnoticed.

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If "Lush Life" focused only on the enigma that was Strayhorn's life, it would stand as a compelling story. But what makes it shine are the musical performances that slink seductively around the story. These are the songs of Billy Strayhorn, and it is through them that his story speaks to us most eloquently. They're understated performances, eloquently rendered by vocalists ranging from Dianne Reeves to Elvis Costello, punctuated by musicians like pianist Hank Jones, saxophonist Joe Lavano and guitarist Russell Malone. The tunes, from "Lush Life" to "Chelsea Bridge" to "Blood Count" point to various phases of Strayhorn's life, and add an extra texture to the story.

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"Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life" could not be more aptly titled. In his 51 years on the planet before falling to esophogeal cancer, Strayhorn transformed the face of jazz in his work with Duke Ellington. It's almost impossible to chart the implications of his influence on music as we know it. This documentary is a good start, though.