I am Claude Bolling - Chapt. 1 I am a Duke Ellington fan first

Claude Bolling is no longer with us, but his memories remain. Close your eyes: he tells you his story - A one of a kind journey in the 20th century, surrounded by the major artists, musicians, and jazzmen- that has given birth to a unique musical work.

It's two in the morning, and the phone rings. I pick it up and hear that unmistakable voice: “Claude… It’s Duke!” Duke Ellington. My idol! That genius whose music has always fascinated me, who sparked my passion for jazz, and who is undoubtedly the reason I’m in this line of work.

...I come to my senses...I knew he had arrived in Paris the day before...Maybe he needed me to transcribe an orchestration for him, as he had already asked during his previous stay...

I knew he appreciated my work and I was proud of the affection he had for me, but for him to call me in the middle of the night, it had to be incredibly important. I grabbed some paper and a pencil, and then I heard: “Claude, where can I get an ice cream?”

I was expecting anything but that, but I told myself it was the kind of thing you only ask of someone with whom you have a special relationship. So there I was on the Champs-Élysées, at the Drugstore, looking for the ice cream he’d asked for, and I saw myself as a kid again, discovering on a hand-cranked phonograph the 78-rpm record of “Black and Tan Fantasy” and “Creole Love Call” by Duke Ellington and his orchestra, which I later learned were recordings from 1927.

After becoming a legend, Duke Ellington was my role model and my mentor. I could never have imagined that one day I would perform his music, that I would meet him, that he would invite me on stage to play with his orchestra, that I would become his friend, and that he would take me under his wing to such an extent that, to his son Mercer, I would be “Brother Bolling.”

Claude Bolling at Maxim's with Duke Ellington . Photo Michel Lesme