The myth has always been that Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington shared an identical approach to music. In Lush Life: A Biography of Billy Strayhorn, David Hajdu dismisses that notion from the very beginning. Schooled in Debussy and Ravel, Strayhorn brought a sensitivity and complexity that was missing in the Ellington oeuvre. Although he had talent enough for a career without Ellington, Strayhorn lacked the confidence. Being both black and gay forced him to take a back seat to his partner"s celebrity. Denied greater public recognition, he sought solace in a "lush life" of his own, smoking and drinking himself to an early death in 1967.