Black Butterfly is a Duke Ellington composition co-written with Irving Mills and Ben Carruthers. It was first recorded by Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra in 1936 and first released on January 8, 1938, with no single album specified in the sources. The tune is a swing - influenced jazz big band piece that is typically performed as a full big band arrangement. The Jazz at Lincoln Center edition (catalog JLC-5015) is a Jazz Big Band Arrangement arranged by Duke Ellington and transcribed by Chris Crenshaw for the 2022 Essentially Ellington competition. The standard lineup includes 2 alto saxes, 1 tenor sax, 1 baritone sax, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, guitar, piano, bass, and drums. While the song has lyrics in some versions by Mills and Carruthers, Ellington's original is generally instrumental. Black Butterfly remains a staple of Ellington's 1930s repertoire and has been recorded by many artists over the years.
