LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Duke Ellington: New York
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Henry L. Grant, one of Duke Ellington's early piano teachers, was one of Washington's most important black musicians. The son of a music teacher, Grant himself studied music at New York University and went on to become one of the first graduates of the Washington Conservatory of Music. He began teaching music at Dunbar High School in 1916, but his musical activities ranged beyond the world of public school music.
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A pioneer, an innovator and an inspiration to generations, Duke Ellington personified elegance and sophistication. More importantly, he was a workaholic creative genius who never stopped exploring new dimensions of his musical world.
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The Duke's Serenadersa trio made up of Ellington on piano, Otto Hardwick on saxophone, and Sonny Greer on drumsmade its first trip to New York City in 1922, working with the clarinetist and leader Wilbur Sweatman. After a short while, they returned to Washington, not quite ready for the requirements of "the Big Apple." One year later, upon the suggestion of pianist Thomas "Fats" Waller, the trio, along with trumpeter Arthur Whetsol and banjoist Elmer Snowden, returned to New York City. This move brought an end to his marriage.
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In 1943 Ellington helped set up an annual jazz concert series at New York City's Carnegie Hall. The series lasted until 1955, and Ellington was deeply involved with it each year. He used the yearly event to premiere new, longer works of jazz that he composed. For the first concert, Ellington introduced Black, Brown, and Beige, a piece in three sections that represented symphonically the story of blacks in the United States. "Black" concerned black people at work and at prayer, "Brown" celebrated black soldiers who fought in the American Revolution, and "Beige" depicted the black music of Harlem. Other Carnegie Hall debuts included New World a-Comin', about a black revolution to come after the end of World War II, Liberian Suite, commissioned by the government of Liberia to honor its centennial, The Tattooed Bride, and Night Creature.
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Duke Ellington was a great innovator, using new harmonies to blend his musicians' individual sounds. He illuminated subtle moods by combining various instruments. His composition Mood Indigo illustrates this method and is a combination of a muted trumpet, an unmuted trombone and a low-register clarinet.
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On April 29, 1899 Edward Kennedy Ellington was born into the world. Celebrate his birthday weekend by taking a trip back to U Street, Washington's Black Broadway, and home to the young boy who become famous as jazz master Duke Ellington. U Street once throbbed with nightclubs and theaters where the great African American entertainers headlined. The jazz scene continues to thrive on the “New U,” and we’ll show you where. In addition to the seeing the houses where Ellington spent his childhood, including one in historic Le Droit Park, we’ll visit other elegantly restored landmarks like the gilded Lincoln Theatre and the Thurgood Marshall Center for Service and Heritage (home to the nation's first black YMCA). A look at nearby Howard University followed by a stop at the only memorial to African American Civil War soldiers will complete the journey through the heart of African American culture in the nation's capital.
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