Duke Ellington In Person

It's hard not to feel a little sorry for Mercer Ellington, who by his own admission spent the better part of his life locked in an Oedipal struggle with his brilliant dad. But let's not forget that Mercer wrote a handful of classics, ranging from melancholic mood pieces ("Blue Serge") to jam-session perennials ("Things Ain't What They Used to Be"). Nor should we overlook this fine memoir, which offers a window into Ellington's fantastically elusive private life. This is neither a dutiful hagiography nor an act of literary patricide: instead, Mercer has effectively mingled his father's story with his own. And in the end, he's too respectful of Duke's genius not to forgive his moments of paternal pettiness and axe-grinding.