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Duke Ellington: Bands
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Born Edward Kennedy Ellington, Duke Ellington was one of the founding fathers of jazz music. He started playing piano at the age of seven, and by the time he was 15, he was composing. A pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer, Ellington and his band played together for 50 years. Some of Ellington's most famous songs include "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," "Sophisticated Lady" and "In a Sentimental Mood."
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Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 - May 24, 1974) was an American jazz composer, pianist and bandleader. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969 and the Legion of Honor by France in 1973. Both are the highest civilian honors of each country. He was known as "The Duke" (see: Jazz royalty). Duke Ellington was a major force in jazz from the 1920s through the 1960s and his work continues to be influential today. He is considered by many to be the greatest American composer.
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At his creative peak, jazz legend and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded two shows at the Falkoner Center in Copenhagen that were to be aired as TV specials. The 1965 concerts feature 20 songs, including such classic tracks as "Things Ain't What They Used to Be," "Tootie for Cootie" and "Sophisticated Lady." In Duke's parlance, "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing" … and swing he does in these unforgettable performances.
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Without question, Duke Ellington's place in jazz is unparalleled. A master composer, deft arranger, underrated pianist, and insightful band leader, Ellington remained creative and relevant through an entire 50-year career. As a songwriter, he was as prolific as the Gershwins or Cole Porter. He absorbed all styles and trends in jazz, adding elements of each to his compositions, and his varied uses of the blues structure seemed limitless. He inspired his soloists to heights unreachable without his guidance, always aware of how best to capture a musician's talents. He made complex and sophisticated arrangements sound simple, almost instinctive.
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Duke Ellington was the most important composer in the history of jazz as well as being a bandleader who held his large group together continuously for almost 50 years. The two aspects of his career were related; Ellington used his band as a musical laboratory for his new compositions and shaped his writing specifically to showcase the talents of his bandmembers, many of whom remained with him for long periods. Ellington ... wrote film scores and stage musicals, and several of his instrumental works were adapted into songs that became standards. In addition to touring year in and year out, he recorded extensively, resulting in a gigantic body of work that was still being assessed a quarter century after his death. Ellington was the son of a White House butler, James Edward Ellington, and thus grew up in comfortable surroundings. He began piano lessons at age seven and was writing music by his teens.
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In 1917 Ellington formed his first outfit, The Duke's Serenaders. The group became popular around their local Washington, DC, area and was often invited to play at diplomatic functions. In 1922 Ellington traveled to New York City, where he played under Wilbur Sweatman. The visit proved unproductive and he returned to Washington, where he joined Elmer Snowden. In 1923 Snowden took his group to New York. An argument over missing funds... eventually led band members to walk out on Snowden.
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