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Ellington, Duke: Bands
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The man who made "Take the 'A' Train" his signature song was none other than the musical giant Edward Kennedy Ellington, better known as Duke Ellington. Ellington (1899-1974) was born in Washington, D.C., and by the time he was 15, he was composing. For more than 50 years, Ellington and his band worked with artists such as Irving Berlin, Florenz Ziegfeld, Al Jolson, Lena Horn, Ella Fitzgerald, Max Roach, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Mahalia Jackson, Bing Crosby and many more.
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NN: Duke Ellington's Band Arrives June 8th. "Melody Maker" Concert for Musicians, June 18th, in: Jerry's Rhythm Rag, #4 (Fall 1993), p. 22-23 (F; Reprint, from Melody Maker, May 1933); reprint, in: Ken Vail: Duke's Diary. Part One: The Life of Duke Ellington 1927-1950, Cambridge 1999 [book: Vail Publishing], p. 79 (F)
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Duke Ellington was an American jazz bandleader, pianist and composer. He is considered by many to be America's greatest composer. By the time of his death, Ellington had appeared for more than 20,000 performances worldwide.
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The early days of one of the 20th century's greatest musical figures are explored in this revealing retrospective Duke Ellington's 1920s bands. From 1924, when Ellington made his first appearance at the Kentucky Club, to 1929, by which time his Cotton Club Orchestra was amazing the patrons of that popular Harlem nightspot, the development of his musical ideas and growing artistic confidence is marked by numbers like Black and Tan Fantasy, The Mooche, and Tiger Rag. His innovative arrangements are matched by the spontaneity and inventiveness of his musicians, who include the great trumpeter Bubber Miley, the clarinetist Barney Bigard, and the alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges.
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Born Edward Kennedy Ellington in Washington, D.C., into a middle-class family, he acquired the nickname Duke as a child for his manners, clothing, and personality. His parents had musical backgrounds, and by the time Ellington was a teenager he was playing piano in a musical style known as ragtime. He began playing for friends and at parties and soon formed a small dance band named The Duke's Serenaders.
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The years 1932 through 1942 were the most creative of Duke Ellington's career. His band grew to 14 pieces and they toured American cities and Europe. In 1939 the band added three musicians who would become highly celebrated collaborators: double bassist Jimmy Blanton, tenor saxophonist Ben Webster, and the composer, arranger and pianist Billy Strayhorn. The band's theme became "Take the 'A' Train."
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