Ellington is a writer and arranger, as well as a musician and leader. He does movie sound tracks.
Norman GranzSponsors and networks will really go all out and simply evaluate people on the basis of talent.
Norman GranzAt Verve, my bookkeeper would invariably say, 'Well, why do you want to put out Roy Eldridge?' Or 'Why do you want to put out Ben Webster? They don't sell.' And I'd say, 'Well, whether they sell or not, they're important, they should be recorded and they're what Verve stands for, so we don't have to discuss that any further.
Norman Granz