This is about the Duke, the Count, and Satchmo ... and their wives

I’ve spent a good part of my free time this week listening to and reading a book that just came out, The Jazz Men: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Count Basie Transformed America by Larry Tye. I have had the honor of being the Trustee of the William J. (“Count”) Basie Trust, for the last 11 years or so, and I was the guardian for his late daughter, Diane Basie until her death in 2022. I’ve met many interesting people through this, including Larry. We’ve spent several hours together recounting stories, visiting the Basies’ home in Addisleigh Park, Queens, and surmising about their lives. I love the way he tells the parallel stories of these 3 jazz giants, whose music dominated the airwaves and dance halls throughout the middle of the 20th century.

I am particularly interested in how each of these men managed their home lives when they, themselves, were traveling constantly. All 3 had long-term marriages, and all of them admitted to having affairs with women on the road. Duke Ellington married his high school sweetheart, Daisy, had a child (Mercer) with her, separated from her after a few years but stayed legally married to her for over 50 years. Count Basie and his wife, Catherine, also stayed married for many years, sharing their home Queens and raising their daughter, Diane. But it wasn’t always happy. There was almost a rhythm to Catherine’s accusations of his philandering and his letters of apology, sometimes written to their daughter, often resulting in her acquisition of diamonds or mink coats. Lucille Armstrong was perhaps more understanding, and Louis Armstrong did not seem to apologize for his “uncountable” number of affairs.

I wonder how each of these wives, particularly Mrs. Basie and Mrs. Armstrong, thought about their marriages. They each enjoyed the status and financial security of being married to celebrities, which was no small thing. Both women were raising children with special needs. Mrs. Basie was particularly devoted to Diane, who never spent a day in an institution, although she had profound disabilities. And perhaps the wives each forgave their husbands because they understood the stresses of their husbands’ lives.

And for the husbands’ parts, they were each – necessarily – devoted to their music first. In fact, Duke Ellington’s autobiography is called Music Is My Mistress, and he goes on to say “and she plays second fiddle to no one.” Tye tells of the contrasts between being their feted in public, touring the world, playing for heads of state and sold-out audiences — yet being treated as subhuman when they were off the bandstand. Traveling, Tye says, particularly by car or bus, could be life-threatening, particularly in the Jim Crow South.

I’m fascinated by how each family arranged their lives, and the interplay between needing the security of having a stable home, wanting children, and having a career that demanded independence, a mindset of tremendous dignity and stamina to deal with the physical demands of the road – and the ability to deal with loneliness. We think of marriage now as an economic partnership. The wives must have understood that partnership – economic and otherwise – in a profound way. And I don’t doubt that they helped their husbands sustain the demands of their lives so that we could enjoy their artistry — sustaining what is really the heartbeat of American music.

I’m really enjoying the book. Tye is an incredible storyteller, and he has a wonderful way of describing what these 3 geniuses were up against. And, I hope that someday, someone writes a book about the women in their lives!