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Prince Rogers Nelson and Duke Ellington
A comparative musical love affair
Duke Ellington once wrote “Music is My Mistress.” It was. Prince Rogers Nelson, aka “Prince,” had a similar relationship with music. No one, woman or man, could get in the way of him and his music. Prince died when he was 57 years old. He was just getting started and just like that, gone.
You might be puzzled. Prince recorded a lot of music and did a lot of shows by the time he was 57. Just getting started?
Yep.
The Duke
I make this statement because when Duke Ellington was 57, he brought his orchestra to the Newport Jazz Festival. People were saying at the time that “the Duke” was finished. Ellington wasn’t hearing it. He played the famous festival, and his orchestra gave one of the greatest performances in the festival's history. Duke was animated, engaged, and as energized as ever.
He released an album shortly after the performance called Newport ’56. It is considered one of his best and one of the best live jazz recordings ever. Not long afterward, there was Duke on the cover of Time Magazine. He was hitting his stride, just getting started. So I say, if Prince had lived on, there is no telling what he might have done.
