Duke ellington biography music

Considered one of the greatest jazz composers of all time, Duke Ellington had an enormous impact on the popular music of the late 20th century. Today his recordings remain among the most popular jazz of the big-band era.

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Born in Washington D. His mother, who also played the piano, oversaw his education, and by the time he was seventeen he began playing professionally. Making his name as a piano player in Washington, Ellington started to compose his own music. In he moved to New York, and the following year formed his own band, the Washingtonians. In Ellington left the Cotton Club and began a series of extended tours that would continue for the rest of his life.

For Ellington, the big band was not simply made up of five reeds, four trumpets, three trombones, drums, a bass, and a piano; it was made up of individuals. Where other composers had concerned themselves with creating a sound that unified the many instruments into one voice, Ellington believed in letting the dissonant voices of each musician play against each other.

He wrote music that capitalized on the particular style and skills of his soloists.

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For this and many other reasons, his soloists often stayed with him for extended periods. Among the best members of his band were Jimmy Blanton, Johnny Hodges, Cootie Williams, and Harry Carney who was in the band for nearly every one of its forty-seven years. In , Billy Strayhorn joined the band as an arranger, composer, and sometimes pianist.

The two worked well together, continuing in the tradition that Ellington had built. Though Ellington continued to compose and perform regularly throughout the s and s, the public demand for big-band music had faded. It was not until , with a triumphant performance at the Newport Jazz Festival, that Ellington re-emerged as an important voice in contemporary music.