In honor of Black History Month, Scholastic Storybook Treasures has released a DVD for children, “Duke Ellington … and More Stories to Celebrate Great Figures in African American History.” Forest Whitaker’s resonant, almost poetic narration is the highlight of one lesson on the Duke, which shares the disc with more stories on Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and even the mythical John Henry.
The format of Whitaker’s short subject is a series of colored drawings (still pictures, not animation) accompanied by his voiceover. A good brief history directed at four-nine years olds, the story starts with the Duke as a boy who wanted to play baseball instead of enduring the dull piano lessons imposed by his parents. But something must have stuck. After being inspired by the earthy sounds of ragtime, Ellington went on to form the most dynamic jazz orchestra of his dayan ensemble whose musicians were like colors on a painter’s palette.
It goes to show that parents are usually at least half right.
