Duke ellington biography 1920s dress

American jazz pianist and composer (1899–1974)

Musical artist

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life.

Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based in New York City from the mid-1920s and gained a national profile through his orchestra's appearances at the Cotton Club in Harlem. A master at writing miniatures for the three-minute 78 rpm recording format, Ellington wrote or collaborated on more than one thousand compositions; his extensive body of work is the largest recorded personal jazz legacy, and many of his pieces have become standards. He also recorded songs written by his bandsmen, such as Juan Tizol's "Caravan", which brought a Spanish tinge to big band jazz.

At the end of the 1930s, Ellington began a nearly thirty five-year collaboration with composer-arranger-pianist Billy Strayhorn, whom he called his writing and arranging companion. With Strayhorn, he composed multiple extended compositions, or suites, as well as many short pieces. For a few years at the beginning of Strayhorn's involvement, Ellington's orchestra featured bassist Jimmy Blanton and tenor saxophonist Ben Webster and reached what many claim to be a creative peak for the group. Some years later following a low-profile period, an appearance by Ellington and his orchestra at the Newport Jazz Festival in July 1956 led to a major revival and regular world tours. Ellington recorded for most American record companies of his era, performed in and scored several films, and composed a handful of stage musicals.

Although a pivotal figure in the history of jazz, in the opinion of Gunther Schuller and Barry Kernfeld, "the most significant composer of the genre", Ellington himself embraced the phrase "beyond category", considering it a liberating principle, an

(1899-1974)

Who Was Duke Ellington?

A major figure in the history of jazz music, Duke Ellington's career spanned more than half a century, during which time he composed thousands of songs for the stage, screen and contemporary songbook. He created one of the most distinctive ensemble sounds in Western music and continued to play what he called "American Music" until shortly before his death in 1974.

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington
BORN: April 29, 1899
BIRTHPLACE: Washington D.C.
DEATH: May 24, 1974 (age 75)
SPOUSE: Edna Thompson (m. 1918-1967)
CHILDREN: Mercer Ellington
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Taurus

Early Life

Born on April 29, 1899, Ellington was raised by two talented, musical parents in a middle-class neighborhood of Washington, D.C. At the age of seven, he began studying piano and earned the nickname "Duke" for his gentlemanly ways. Inspired by his job as a soda jerk, he wrote his first composition, "Soda Fountain Rag," at the age of 15. Despite being awarded an art scholarship to the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, Ellington followed his passion for ragtime and began to play professionally at age 17.

Duke Ellington's Band

In the 1920s, Ellington performed in Broadway nightclubs as the bandleader of a sextet, a group which in time grew to a 10-piece ensemble. Ellington sought out musicians with unique playing styles, such as Bubber Miley, who used a plunger to make the "wa-wa" sound, and Joe Nanton, who gave the world his trombone "growl." At various times, his ensemble included the trumpeter Cootie Williams, cornetist Rex Stewart and alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges. Ellington made hundreds of recordings with his bands, appeared in films and on radio, and toured Europe on two occasions in the 1930s.

Songs

Ellington's fame rose to the rafters in the 1940s when he composed several masterworks, including "Concerto for Cootie," "Cotton

Duke Ellington was one of the most important creative forces in the music of the twentieth century. His influence on classical music, popular music, and, of course, jazz, simply cannot be overstated.

He was born Edward Kennedy Ellington in Washington, D.C. on April 29, 1899, into a middle class black family. His father was a butler in a wealthy household, and he is said to have sometimes worked at White House affairs. Ellington originally had ambitions of becoming a painter, but he became interested in music in his early teens and learned James P. Johnson's "Carolina Shout" from a piano roll. Soon he was part of a small jazz band in Washington.

In 1923 he moved to New York and early in 1924 he became the leader of his band. Soon he was recording, and in 1927 Ellington's band was hired to play regularly at the Cotton Club, where he stayed for five years. Cotton Club performances were broadcast almost nightly, and by 1930 Ellington and his band were famous. And even as early as this, Ellington was beginning to be recognized as an important serious composer.

In 1931, he was invited to visit the White House, and in 1933 his band made its first European tour, a huge triumph. In the years that followed, Ellington continued to grow musically, and the quality of his band continued to improve, reaching what many consider to be a peak from 1939 through the early 1940s.

After the end of World War II, big bands went out of fashion, and, like other bands, Ellington's band suffered financially. Nevertheless, Ellington continued to keep the band together through all the years that followed, subsidizing the band from his royalties as a composer.

Ellington was primarily an instrumental composer, and most of his songs were originally written as instrumental pieces, with words tacked on at a later date. Nevertheless, many of them remain remarkable as songs. Among his best-known songs are "Sophisticated Lady" (1933, lyric by Mitchell Parish), "I

When big bands declined in popularity after World War II, Ellington used the royalties he earned from composing to financially support his bandmates. But he wasn’t out of the spotlight for long. His triumphant performance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1956 reminded the world of his prodigious abilities. In the 1960s and 1970s, Ellington also performed as a “jazz ambassador” on cultural diplomatic missions for the U.S. State Department. 

Ellington’s music consistently reflected his strong beliefs. When asked about composing a civil rights work in the 1960s, he famously replied, “I did my piece more than 20 years ago when I wrote Jump for Joy.” The all-Black musical revue, he later said, was “. . . done on a highly intellectual level. No crying, no moaning, but entertaining, and with social demands as a potent spice.” 
 
On May 24, 1974, Ellington died of lung cancer in New York City, leaving behind a remarkable body of work. Among his credits are hits like “In A Sentimental Mood,” “Sophisticated Lady,” “I Got It Bad (And That Ain’t Good),” “I’m Beginning To See The Light,” “Prelude To A Kiss,” and “Satin Doll.” Today, he is recognized as one of the greatest jazz composers of all time and one of the most significant cultural figures in American history.

 The Museum has an extensive collection of items related to Ellington’s life and career, including a print of the 1929 short film Black and Tan Fantasy, which stars Ellington and is based on his song of the same name, a 1938 program and menu from the Cotton Club with a large illustration featuring Ellington at his piano, and a playbill of Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies from the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. This month, the 125th anniversary of the Duke’s birth, we are honored to share these treasures with the world.

Image Credits: 
All images collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.