æt ðə dᵻsˈɛmbɚɹ ɪlˈɛvən, nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd fˈoːɹɾi θɹˈiː kˈɑːnsɚt æt kˈɑːɹnəɡi hˈɔːl, ˈɛlɪŋtən sˈɛd, "wiː θˈɔːt wiː wˈʊdənt plˈeɪ ɪt blˈæk, bɹˈaʊn ænd bˈeɪʒ ɪn ɪts ɛntˈaɪɹɪɾi tənˈaɪt bɪkˈʌz ɪt ɹˌɛpɹᵻzˈɛnts ɐn ˈɔːfəli lˈɔŋ ænd ɪmpˈoːɹtənt stˈoːɹi ænd ðæt aɪ dˈoʊnt θˈɪŋk tˈuː mɛni pˈiːpəl ɑːɹ fəmˈɪlɪɹ wɪððə stˈoːɹi.
At the December 11, 1943 concert at Carnegie Hall, Ellington said, "We thought we wouldn't play it (Black, Brown and Beige) in its entirety tonight because it represents an awfully long and important story and that I don't think too many people are familiar with the story.