Music Manuscripts

Materials consist primarily of handwritten Duke Ellington scores including rare manuscripts of Ellington's early work (i. e. Swampy River), numerous scores for titles never recorded by Duke Ellington and his Orchestra (i. e. JBYBOI) and many sketches and scores for his end-of-life work, the Scared Concerts. The music manuscripts at times complement the extant materials in the Duke Ellington Collection and the Ruth Ellington Collection of Duke Ellington Materials. Heretofore unavailable scores from the Latin American Suite, among other extended works, add important documents to the public record. Included are many scores by Mercer Ellington and published sheet music. Scattered throughout the collection are also scores by Billy Strayhorn. The music manuscripts are arranged in alphabetical order by title.