The Essence and Duke Ellington

I worked, toured, and recorded with Duke Ellington for the last two years of his life – a period that was the highlight of my career. In my memoirs, The Essence and Duke Ellington, I aim to convey the spirit within the heart of the jazz musician, particularly Duke Ellington. I want to show what drove him and other musicians, past and present, to play and compose this wonderful music. I also depict Duke Ellington’s greatness as a human being, not as some super-human being, which he may well have been. I recount stories and reflect on my own experiences, expounding on what working with and learning from him and so many other jazz greats has meant to me.

Vince was born in Connellsville, Pa. on November 18, 1937. When he was 3, he heard Tommy Dorsey play the trombone, and was thrilled. He earned a BS in music at Duquesne University, and became a professional jazz musician. He joined Lionel Hampton in 1959 and toured and recorded with him. He moved to New York and worked, toured and recorded with Woody Herman. He also worked with Kenny Dorham, Joe Henderson, and Frank Foster. At 34, he joined Duke Ellington and toured and recorded with him until Duke’s death. He continued with the orchestra led by Duke’s son, Mercer; until 1976, then on and off until 1986, including on Broadway in ‘Sophisticated Ladies’. He also played with Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, and Illinois Jacquet. Moving to California, he worked with Bill Berry, Buddy Collette, Joe Henderson, and at CSU, Chico, where he earned a MA and started a trio/quartet playing trombone and piano. From 1994 through 2007, he taught Jazz workshops at NYU while continuing to play and record his CD, ‘The Treatment’, with his group. He and his wife moved to France in 2012 and he began to write.