Mar 4 1941
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Klaus Stratemann's Duke Ellington Day by Day and
Film by Film (page 166) says Ellington played at the
University of Washington in Seattle on March 8, then at the
York Theatre in Victoria on March 10, where they played 5 shows.
One of the clippings here
shows they travelled by boat from Victoria to Vancouver the
night of March 10, arriving in Vancouver at 7 a.m. (I suspect this
was the old Union Steamship ferry service that used to dock in Vancouver's
harbour on Burrard Inlet).
Ellington and the band played at the Auditorium on
West Georgia and Cardero Streets the evening of March 11, and returned
to Seattle on March 12 to play the Trianon Ballroom.
A radio appearance by Duke Ellington scheduled for March 11 is not mentioned
in W.E.Timner's Ellingtonia. It may be that nobody recorded it,
if it was done.
Some of these images have more than just the Ellington ads. There are
record store plugs and some advertising for the "Cave Supper Club," where Ellington
performed from April 2 to April 11, 1970, referred to in Stratemann
(pages 598 & 766) as "The Cave Inn." The Georgia Auditorium burned to the ground
sometime after 1958 but before I arrived in the city in 1961.
Here are the advertisements and reviews that appeared in The Daily Colonist (Victoria),
The Daily Province (Vancouver) and The Vancouver Sun (Vancouver) related to these
performances:
| The Daily Colonist Mar 4 1941 |
| Record store ad, Victoria (Fletcher Bros.(Victoria)Ltd. |
| York Theatre ad, The Daily Colonist (Victoria) Mar 5 1941 |
| The text to the right of the ad is about Churchill, and is a sad reminder that Canada was at war at this time |
| Ad, The Daily Colonist, Victoria, Mar 5 1941 |
| Record store ad, Victoria (Kent's Limited) |
| Ads, The Vancouver Sun, Vancouver, Mar 5, 1941 |
| The ad for the dance, a record store (Spencer's Department Store, I believe it was). Also note the ad for The Cave Supper Club and in the Spencer ad, the expected radio interview. |
| Ad, Daily Province, Vancouver, Mar 8 1941 |
| |
| Ads, Vancouver Sun, Mar 8, 1941 |
| Ad for the dance at the Georgia Auditorium; note also the tobacconist's ad at the bottom of the page |
| Ad, Spencer's, both Vancouver papers, March 8, 1941 |
| |
| Ad, The Daily Colonist, Mar 9 1941 |
| Informative ad, shows Ellington shared the bill with the movie Little Men, shows the times and duration of Ellington's performances |
| Ad, The Daily Colonist, Victoria Mar 9 1941 |
| Kent's Limited records store advertising autographed records |
| Ad, Daily Province, Vancouver, Mar 10 1941 |
| |
| Ad, Vancouver Sun, Mar 10 1941 |
| |
| Ad, Daily Province, Mar 11 1941 |
| |
| Ad, Vancouver Sun, Mar 11, 1941 |
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| Interview, Vancouver Sun, Mar 11, 1941 |
| Read text here |
| Review, Vancouver Sun, Mar 12, 1941 |
| Read text here |
Vancouver Sun, Tuesday March 11, 1941
Plays in Vancouver Tonight
Breakfast was first thing on the schedule of "Duke" Ellington, who arrived from Victoria at 7 a.m. today, bringing with him his famous orchestra and all his entertainers, who will play at the Auditorium for dancing tonight, from 9 to 1 a.m. Tickets will be sold at the Auditorium door for the great "swing" orchestra's appearance here. Several of the "Duke's own compositions" will be featured on the program, which will include the torrid singing of Ivie Anderson.
Ellington Defends Swing As 'Just Music of Today'
Duke Ellington thinks Stravinsky plays as good a boogie-woogie movement as he has ever heard.
The internationally-famous Negro dance band leader, with his group of 17 entertainers, arrived by boat from Victoria today to play an engagement at the Auditorium tonight under management of Hilker Attractions Ltd.
He got to talking about Stravinsky when he was asked about his own music and modern music in general.
"Swing is just the music of today," he said. "Its rhythyms are descriptive of what is actually going on. Trying to tell dancers anything else would be as incongruous as setting up a quaint old garden around a penthouse.
"The new music will be a combination of serious music and jazz. Each has already influenced the other."
Ellington will play mostly request music tonight.
He played five shows at the York Theatre in Victoria, Monday, and crowds tied up traffic seeking admittance.
Vancouver Sun, Wednesday March 12, 1941:
Ellington Swingfest:
'Duke" Delights Jive Students
Attracts 2500 Fans
A ranking member of the royal family of dancebandom and his musical courtiers held sway over 2500 devoted subjects of the realm of jive when Duke Ellington, his orchestra and songstress, Ivie Anderson, performed Tuesday night at the Auditorium.As usual when "name bands" visit Vancouver the crowd was divided into three groups.
There were those conventional dancers who attended more or less out of curiosity. Then there were those who came for sheer dancing enjoyment -- the "jitterbugs."
And last, and by no means in the minority, were those who sat all evening in the gallery and studied the orchestra and the sounds it made.
Eddie Davis,1614 Cardero Street, and Marie Smith, 4282 Princess Street, who used the orchestra to advantage for jitterbugging were enthusiastic (several illegible words)Goodman.
Kenneth Roberts, 474 West Twenty-first, an ex-U.B.C. student, gives Ellington an A-class rating.
Byron Straight, keen student of swing, who possesses one of the most complete recorded libraries in Vancovuer, figures that Ellington has better musicians than any other orchestra. He points to Jim Blanten,(sic) bass player; Tricky Sam Manton,(sic) hot trombonist; and Herb Jeffries, vocalist, as particularly outstanding.
Len Gibson, 337 Prior Street, and Dorothy King, 1018 Odlum Drive, just two of many representatives of Vancouver's Negro population there, state that the Duke is "tops."
Mary Joan Macdonald, daughter of Professor W. I. Macdonald of the U.B.C. English department, was enthusiasitic about the entire aggegation, and particularly Ivie Anderson.
Jack Bensted, Berkley Apartments, saxophonist in a local dance orchestra, is another keen Ellington supporter."
The Duke's lost none of the punch he exhibited here last year," said Don McKim, CKWX announcer.
Ellington was again presented by Hilker Attractions.