Composed: 1970
Premiered: 1970, New York
Duration: 30 minutes

One of the most influential figures in jazz in the 20th century, Duke Ellington – born Edward Kennedy Ellington in Washington, D.C. – composed and collaborated on over a thousand works, making his the largest recorded personal jazz legacy with many pieces becoming part of standard repertoire. His compositional ambitions and interests changed over the course of his career, but his style and musical voice was established by the end of the 1930s during the height the swing era.

The River was originally commissioned by the American Ballet Theatre to celebrate its 30th anniversary with choreography by acclaimed dancer Alvin Ailey. When the ballet premiered at what is now the David H. Koch Theater in New York City in 1970, it was considered a “work in progress” but still received widespread acclaim. Ellington believed that “the composer should never be the arranger” and so Canadian composer, jazz trombonist, and arranger Ron Collier created the score for a small orchestra. Ellington described the suite as a metaphor for a river and paralleling human life – flowing from its modest source, growing and swelling into a grand, roiling river, and then emptying into the ocean.