When Ellington was growing up, both his parents played piano at home. His father was an ear player who played popular songs. He could neither read nor write music. His mother, on the other hand, took piano lessons in childhood and was proficient enough to play what was then called parlor or salon music—basically American composers of the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Their music was written for amateur pianists, so the technical level was limited. The music was melody driven and sentimental in nature. Early composers were Stephen Foster (Jeanie With The Light Brown Hair and Beautiful Dreamer), Augusta Browne (American Bouquet), William C. Peters (Louisville March And Quickstep) and George Frederick Root (Just Before The Battle, Mother).

The next generation was influenced by the French Impressionists and was more virtuoso oriented. Leading composers were Louis Moreau Gottschalk (The Dying Poet), Edward MacDowell (To A Wild Rose) and Ethelbert Nevin (Water Scenes).

They were followed by composers like Carrie Jacobs-Bond (A Perfect Day and I Love You Truly), Amy Beach (A Hermit Thrush At Eve) and ragtime—most notably Scott Joplin (The Entertainer and Maple Leaf Rag).

All this highly popular music led directly to the early composers of the American Songbook like Irving Berlin and Jerome Kern.

Surely, Ellington’s mother played all or most of this music (though likely not Scott Joplin) at home within earshot of her young son. He may have even learned to play some of this music. At the very least, it was his introduction to the world of music, and it stuck with him as evidenced in his more contemplative, sentimental and even spiritual pieces.

For a pianist, Ellington wrote a lot less music for piano than one might expect. There is one piano concerto (New World A-Comin’) and a dozen or more solo piano pieces, most notably Single Petal Of A Rose, Reflections In D, and The Clothed Woman. He and Strayhorn used to play the piano 4-hands Tonk at parties, but that was composed by Strayhorn.

Reflections In D is a set piece with no improvisation (other than the free rubato rhythms) constructed of four motifs. The intro motif returns as an outro. The short a and b motifs repeat verbatim, while the c motif develops and expands and contracts through the four iterations of the themes—a unique form to be sure.

Is this jazz? There is no swing, no grooves, no improvisational interplay, and the blues content is subtle. Maybe it’s just beyond category.