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Duke Ellington

By the time of his passing, he was considered amongst the world’s greatestcomposers and musicians. The French government honored him with theirhighest award, the Legion of Honor, while the government of the UnitedStates bestowed upon him the highest civil honor, the Presidential Medal ofFreedom. He played for the royalty and for the common people and by theend of his 50-year career, he had played over 20,000 performancesworldwide. He was The Duke, Duke Ellington.

Edward Kennedy Ellington was born into the world on April 29, 1899 inWashington, D.C. Duke’s parents, Daisy Kennedy Ellington and James EdwardEllington, served as ideal role models for young Duke, and taught himeverything from proper table manners to an understanding of the emotionalpower of music. Duke’s first piano lessons came around the age of seven oreight and appeared not to have had that much lasting effect upon him. Itseemed as if young Duke was more inclined to baseball at a young age.

Duke got his first job selling peanuts at Washington Senator’s baseballgames. This was the first time Duke was placed as a "performer" for a crowdand had to first get over his stage fright. At the age of 14, Duke begansneaking into Frank Holliday’s poolroom. His experiences from the poolroomtaught him to appreciate the value in mixing with a wide range of people.

As Duke’s piano lessons faded into the past, Duke began to show a flare forthe artistic. Duke attended Armstrong Manual Training School to studycommercial art instead of going to an academics-oriented school. Dukebegan to seek out and listen to ragtime pianists in Washington and, duringthe summers, in Philadelphia or Atlantic City, where he and his mothervacationed .

While vacationing in Asbury Park, Duke heard of a hot pianist named HarveyBrooks. At the end of his vacation, Duke sought Harvey out in Philadelphiawhere Harvey showed Duke some pianistic tricks and shortcuts. Duke laterrecounted that, "When I got home I had a real yearning to play. I hadn’t beenable to get off the ground before, but after hearing him I said to myself, ‘Manyou’re going to have to do it.’" Thus the music career of Duke Ellington wasborn.

Duke was taken under the wings of Oliver "Doc" Perry and Louis Brown, whotaught Duke how to read music and helped improve his overall piano playingskills. Duke found piano playing jobs at clubs and cafes throughout theWashington area. Three months shy of graduation, Duke dropped out ofschool and began his professional music career.

In late 1917, Duke formed his first group: The Duke’s Serenaders. Between1918 and 1919, Duke made three significant steps towards independence.First, he moved out of his parents’ home and into a home he bought forhimself. Second, Duke became his own booking agent for his band. By doingso, Ellington’s band was able to play throughout the Washington area and intoVirginia for private society balls and embassy parties. Finally, Duke marriedEdna Thompson and on March 11, 1919, Mercer Kennedy Ellington was born.

In 1923, Duke left the security that Washington offered him and moved toNew York. Through the power of radio, listeners throughout New York hadheard of Duke Ellington, making him quite a popular musician. It was also inthat year that Duke made his first recording. Ellington and his renamed band,The Washingtonians, established themselves during the prohibition era byplaying at places like the Exclusive Club, Connie’s Inn, the Hollywood Club(Club Kentucky), Ciro’s, the Plantation Club, and most importantly the CottonClub. Thanks to the rise in radio receivers and the industry itself, Duke’sband was broadcast across the nation live on "From the Cotton Club." Theband’s music, along with their popularity, spread rapidly.

In 1928, Ellington and Irving Mills signed an agreement in which Millsproduced and published Ellington’s music. Recording companies likeBrunswick, Columbia, and Victor came calling. Duke’s band became the mostsought-after band in the United States and even throughout the world.

Some of Ellington’s greatest works include "Rockin’ in Rhythm," "Satin Doll,""New Orleans," "A Drum is a Women," "Take the 'A' Train," "Happy-Go-LuckyLocal," "The Mooche," and "Crescendo in Blue."

Duke Ellington and his band went on to play everywhere from New York toNew Delhi, Chicago to Cairo, and Los Angeles to London. Ellington and hisband played with such greats as Miles Davis, Cab Calloway, Dizzy Gillespie,Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett and Louis Armstrong. They entertained everyonefrom Queen Elizabeth II to President Nixon. Before passing away in 1974,Duke Ellington wrote and recorded hundreds of musical compositions, all ofwhich will continue to have a lasting effect upon people worldwide for a longtime to come.

The Jazz legend, Ellington become the first blackAmerican to be prominently featured on a U.S. coin in circulation with therelease of a quarter honoring the District of Columbia.

U.S. Mint and D.C. officials celebrated the release of the coin February 2009,during a ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Museum of AmericanHistory.

“Like many great Americans who succeed in what they love doing,Duke Ellington was equal parts talent, hard work, passion and perseverance,"U.S. Mint Director Ed Moy said.

The coin with Ellington resting his elbow on a piano was officially releasedJan. 26,2009 but officials took time February to hand out some of the “mintcondition" quarters to D.C. schoolchildren.

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The Duke Ellington Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1943

by Chuck Lenatti
November 20, 2024

Duke Ellington was one of the most popular and successful jazz musicians of the first half of the 20th century and according to composer Gunther Schuller and musicologist and historian Barry Kernfeld, “the most significant composer of the genre." Radio broadcasts from his residency at New York's Cotton Club beginning in 1927 extended Ellington's orchestra's national exposure and a parade of hit records, from “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" in 1926 to “C Jam Blues" in 1942, among many ...

Album Review

Duke Ellington: Copenhagen 1958

Read "Copenhagen 1958" reviewed by Ken Dryden

by Ken Dryden
September 9, 2024

Duke Ellington left a formidable discography at his death at the age of 75 in 1974, and it has expanded greatly with the number of concerts that have been uncovered and issued since then. This CD is drawn from two 1958 concerts at KB Hallen in Copenhagen, though they are not sourced from the original, long lost broadcast tapes, but dubs evidently made by a fan. What makes this a valuable find is that the band is in top form ...

Album Review

Duke Ellington: Duke Ellington Copenhagen 1958 (Bonus: After Hours 1950)

by Jack Kenny
May 23, 2024

Duke Ellington hated flying so, in 1958, Ellington and Co sailed into Southampton UK to prepare for a tour of Europe. Before going on to Copenhagen, Ellington completed a tour of the UK, taking in Leeds where he met Queen Elizabeth, an event which eventually resulted in the “Queen's Suite." Earlier in the year, his strange obsession with royalty had produced a piece for Princess Margaret, “Princess Blue'" The band was particularly strong in this part of its ...

Play This!

Duke Ellington: Isfahan

by Ian Patterson
April 22, 2024

Part of Duke Ellington's Far East Suite (1967), “Isfahan" took its inspiration from a visit to the city of Isfahan, Iran, in 1963. Of the ancient city Ellington wrote: “everything is poetry," a sentiment transferred beautifully to this most moving of Strayhorn/Ellington compositions. Curious too, to see Ellington holding the sheet music for soloist Johnny Hodges. The same tour also took the Duke Ellington Orchestra to Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon, among other stops. Will such an itinerary ever ...

Top Ten List

Duke Ellington's Top Ten Albums

by DIG 9000
July 29, 2023

Duke Ellington, the legendary jazz composer, pianist, and bandleader, released numerous albums throughout his illustrious career. It's challenging to narrow down his extensive discography to just ten, but here are some essential Duke Ellington albums that showcase his incredible talent and contribution to jazz: Ellington at Newport Columbia Records 1956 This live album is one of Ellington's most famous and significant recordings, featuring the iconic performance of “Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" with an ...

Book Excerpts

Jazz Lines: Free Verse In The Key Of Jazz

by Gloria Krolak
June 11, 2023

Duke Ellington, composer, arranger, pianist and originator of big-band jazz, wrote “Sweet Jazz O'Mine" in 1930 when the genre was blooming. As a bandleader, Ellington was unsurpassed. He chose his musicians wisely and inspired some of their best work. “Sweet Jazz" is a lively foxtrot celebrating this unorthodox new style that had people dancing and feeling good. What became my poem is a collection of songs about the instruments that make up the whole, the drums, the trombone, the clarinet, ...

Jazz in Long Form

From Chart to Reality: The Editorial Role of the Pianist in a Big Band

by Kurt Ellenberger
March 28, 2023

Note: This article was first published in the Jazz Education Journal in 2005, and was revised for All About Jazz. Preamble This article was written to address an issue that needed clarification, and indeed still needs clarification almost 20 years later, regarding the vagaries inherent in many of the published big band piano charts in use at hundreds of colleges and high schools. The professional jazz pianist will treat the written part with a great deal of freedom, ...

Video / DVD

Duke Ellington at Grinnell College, 1957

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
January 30, 2024

On January 10, 1957, during a snowy Thursday evening, the Duke Ellington Orchestra played a concert at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. The performance was taped by the school with sophisticated gear, and the subsequent LP was released in limited supply. As a result, it has always been a highly sought-after album. Last week, Carl Woideck emailed with news that all the tracks were up on YouTube. Which is great to hear, since copies of vinyl copies very hard to ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Duke Ellington

Source: Michael Ricci
April 29, 2023

All About Jazz is celebrating Duke Ellington's birthday today!

By the time of his passing, he was considered amongst the world’s greatest composers and musicians. The French government honored him with their highest award, the Legion of Honor, while the government of the United States bestowed upon him the highest civil honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He played for the royalty and for the common people and by the end of his 50-year career, he had played over 20,000 ...
read more

Video / DVD

Count, Duke, Stan, Harry, Gerald and Tubby in '65

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
May 25, 2022

Thought to be over and done in 1965, big bands staged a comeback. Most of their acclaim came on tours in Europe and and on TV, but the truth is that bands led by top names were undergoing a renaissance. With their kids in college or out of the house and rock starting to dominate, many older listeners in the U.S. began paying attention again to artists who had shaped their youth. Abroad, a generation of young adults marveled at ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Duke Ellington

Source: Michael Ricci
April 29, 2022

All About Jazz is celebrating Duke Ellington's birthday today!

By the time of his passing, he was considered amongst the world’s greatest composers and musicians. The French government honored him with their highest award, the Legion of Honor, while the government of the United States bestowed upon him the highest civil honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He played for the royalty and for the common people and by the end of his 50-year career, he had played over 20,000 ...
read more

Video / DVD

Duke Ellington: Berlin 1959

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
August 10, 2021

After my post last week on 16 jazz geniuses, I predictably received a flood of emails asking why Duke Ellington was missing from my list. As I explained, while Duke was exceptional, his piano didn't change the direction of jazz nor did a school emerge that emulated his approach. But the emails did give me pause. Perhaps Duke's influence was more subliminal, I thought. That's when it came to me. Ellington's genius was beauty and greater artistic self-worth. Prior to ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Duke Ellington

Source: Michael Ricci
April 29, 2021

All About Jazz is celebrating Duke Ellington's birthday today!

By the time of his passing, he was considered amongst the world’s greatest composers and musicians. The French government honored him with their highest award, the Legion of Honor, while the government of the United States bestowed upon him the highest civil honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He played for the royalty and for the common people and by the end of his 50-year career, he had played over 20,000 ...
read more

Video / DVD

Videos: Three Ellington Reeds

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
August 28, 2020

Duke Ellington was a tonal impressionist. Each musician in his band had two functions—to be able to play and to have a special sound. Taken as a whole, his orchestral pieces were like canvases, with different hues layered on top of each other. Here are three of Ellington's top saxophonists on solo showcases, providing an opportunity to hear their distinct sounds isolated: Here's Ben Webster on Chelsea Bridge... Here's Harry Carney on Sophisticated Lady... And here's Johnny Hodges on I ...
read more

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Duke Ellington

Source: Michael Ricci
April 29, 2020

All About Jazz is celebrating Duke Ellington's birthday today!

By the time of his passing, he was considered amongst the world’s greatest composers and musicians. The French government honored him with their highest award, the Legion of Honor, while the government of the United States bestowed upon him the highest civil honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He played for the royalty and for the common people and by the end of his 50-year career, he had played over 20,000 ...
read more

Video / DVD

New Duke Ellington Videos

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
January 30, 2020

Yesterday, I was craving Duke. You know how it is. You find yourself in the mood for Ellington's earthy compositions, elegant arrangements, crisp horns, mournful trombones and mink-like reeds, and you have to hear it. So you listen to his Blanton-Webster band of the early 1940s and the Gonsalves-Terry band of the early '50s and beyond, and suddenly you feel alive in a different way. A day of Ellington inspired me to share five recently posted YouTube clips of the ...
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Video / DVD

Five Videos: Duke Ellington

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
October 9, 2019

The rise of swing and jazz's sophisticated elegance starts with Duke Ellington. His first recordings were with Wilbur Sweatman and His Acme Syncopators in August 1924. His first leadership 78 was recorded in November of that year, billed as the Washingtonians. His first Columbia recording came in March 1927, with East St. Louis Toodle-oo, Hop Head and Down in Our Alle Blues. From there, he would go on to compose beautiful jazz songs and change the direction of the music, ...
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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Duke Ellington

Instrument: Piano
Born: April 29, 1899
Died: May 24, 1974