Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington entered the world on April 29, 1899. This prolific African-American jazz composer, pianist and bandleader was the grandson of a former slave. He was born in Washington, DC, to JE and Daisy Kennedy Ellington, who were both piano players! His father also supplemented his income by making blueprints for the US Navy and working as a butler in The White House. The Duke began taking piano lessons at a very early age, but he didn’t become fascinated with mastering it until he was a teenager. At the age of seventeen, he began performing professionally, and he attended Armstrong Manual Training School to study commercial art. Just three months shy of graduation he left school, the call of the piano too loud for him to ignore.
He moved to New York City and by 1923 had formed “The Washingtonians,” a small dance band. In 1927, he got his big break by becoming the house band for the famed Cotton Club. He had a talented publicity manager named Irving Mills, who helped to catapult his growing popularity. In 1934, a European tour revealed that he and his band had a huge following overseas as well. Mills arranged for the band to have a private train so they would not feel the racist sting of segregated accommodations while touring the American South.
The 1940s brought an unparalleled creative surge of energy to the Duke and he became dedicated to extending the jazz form’s three minute limit of the 78 rpm record side. In this endeavor he was greatly aided by Billy Strayhorn who was more familiar with classical music than Ellington was. His career was up and down in the 1950s, but it was revived after he appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1956.
Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1965, he performed his first “Sacred Concert” in 1966, which was a unique attempt to blend jazz with Christian liturgy. In 1969, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by our government and in 1973, the Legion of Honor by France, the highest civilian honors of both countries.
The great composer died on May 24, 1974, leaving a son, Mercer Ellington and an immortal and unparalleled musical legacy.
What are some of YOUR favorite Duke Ellington tunes? Please share.