Fantastic rhythm : the Pittsburgh years -- The renaissance of arranging : first works for and with Duke Ellington -- The Strayhorn effect : a new way of writing for jazz orchestra -- Thinking with the ear : Strayhorn's musical fingerprints -- Writing and arranging companion : credited and uncredited collaborations -- "He is he and I am me" : the Ellington-Strayhorn collaboration -- Wounded love : away from the Ellington organization -- Masterpieces by Strayhord : writing for albums -- The whodunit game : the mature style of Billy Strayhorn -- North by southwest : the final years.