Nation Topics - Duke Ellington | The Nation

Freedom to do just what he pleases defines the life and writing of Geoff Dyer.

Defying adversities imposed by borders has been one of Afropop's key modes of transcendence.

Terry Teachout's new biography of Louis Armstrong is stuck in the discophile groove.

Thelonious Monk was a more nuanced figure than the flimsy characterization of a way-out jazz cat could ever convey.

A longstanding rivalry between old friends shows what it takes to get into the New York Times.

A new book on the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians looks at jazz as a power stronger than itself.

A mighty train of change is coming to Washington: will the insider establishment hop aboard?

The subtle sounds of this saxophonist defy definition.

The history of twentieth-century music charts the rise of modern masters like Duke Ellington and John Adams.

Clive James's erudite new collection of essays celebrates the best of twentieth-century art, thought and politics.