Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington (Edward Kennedy Ellington), 1899-1974, American jazz musician and composer, b. Washington, D.C. Ellington made his first professional appearance as a jazz pianist in 1916. By 1918 he had formed a band, and after appearances in nightclubs in Harlem he became one of the most famous figures in American jazz. Ellington's orchestra, playing his own and Billy Strayhorn's compositions and arrangements, achieved a fine unity of style and made many innovations in the jazz idiom. Many instrumental virtuosos worked closely with Ellington for long periods of time. Among his best-known short works are Mood Indigo, Solitude, and Sophisticated Lady. He also wrote jazz works of complex orchestration and ambitious scope for concert presentation, notably Creole Rhapsody (1932), Black, Brown and Beige (1943), Liberian Suite (1947), Harlem (1951), and Night Creatures (1955), and composed religious music, including three sacred concerts (1965, 1968, and 1973). Ellington made many tours of Europe, appeared in numerous jazz festivals and several films, and made hundreds of recordings. In 1969 he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Bibliography: See his memoirs, Music Is My Mistress (1973); M. Tucker, ed., The Duke Ellington Reader (1993); biographies by B. Ulanov (1946, repr. 1976), J. L. Collier (1989), M. Tucker (1991), J. E. Hass (1993), and A. H. Lawrence (2001); S. Dance, The World of Duke Ellington (1970); M. Ellington (his son) and S. Dance, Duke Ellington in Person (1978).
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Ellington, Duke
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music
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1996
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| © The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music 1996, originally published by Oxford University Press 1996. (Hide copyright information)
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Ellington, Duke ( Edward Kennedy) ( b Washington, DC, 1899; d NY, 1974). Amer. composer, pianist, and jazz-band leader. One of the most influential figures in the history of jazz. From 1927 to 1932 his band established its fame at the Cotton Club, NY. Later it toured Europe (1933 and 1939), attracting and influencing several composers; though re-formed several times, some of its members remained with Ellington for over 30 years. Among his most celebrated players were Johnny Hodges (sax.), Barney Bigard (cl.), Cootie Williams (tpt.), Lawrence Brown (tb.), and Harry Carney (bar. sax.). Wrote about 6,000 comps., among best known being Mood Indigo, Solitude, Caravan, Sophisticated Lady, Black and Tan Fantasy, Creole Love Call, and Black, Brown, and Beige.
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