Duke Ellington, Newport, RI, 1956

This revealing Don Hunstein portrait of Duke Ellington taken at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, finds the American musical master on the brink of one of the greatest second acts in jazz history. By the mid-1950s, the big band sounds that had prevailed in previous decades had been overtaken by the strains of soothing pop on the one hand and the raw sexuality of rock 'n' roll on the other. Many big bands had simply packed it in while Ellington kept his own orchestra afloat with royalties from his abiding classics from the 20s, 30s and 40s, songs like Take the A Train and Mood Indigo, and the occasional roller rink gig or European tour. Newport '56 would change all that. Ellington's transcendent performance led to a Time magazine cover and a resurgence of interest leading to some of the finest music of his career.