Duke Ellington

Jazz pianist Duke Ellington poses Nov. 3, 1954, at  Public Use Notice of Limitations: https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright

American Composer, Pianist, and Bandleader • April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974 • Jazz

Fast Facts 

• Edward Kennedy Ellington was born in 1899, in Washington, D.C., where he became a successful pianist and first became known by his moniker “Duke”. 
• Moved to New York City in the 1920’s and was a prominent voice of the Harlem Renaissance.
• His orchestra, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, became renowned for its distinctive sound, innovative arrangements, and unique soloists.
• Ellington wrote thousands of compositions, including “Mood Indigo,” “In A Sentimental Mood,” and “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.”
• His band’s signature song, “Take The ‘A’ Train,” composed by long-time collaborator Billy Strayhorn, is included on National Public Radio’s one hundred most important American musical works of the 20th century.
• Later in Ellington’s career he composed extended musical works such as “Black, Brown, and Beige” which premiered at Carnegie Hall in New York City in 1943.
• Duke Ellington’s family life includes his wife Edna Thompson, and their son, Mercer Ellington, who also became a notable musician and bandleader.
• Ellington received numerous awards, including 13 Grammy Awards, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Legion of Honour given by France, and a posthumous Pulitzer Prize.
• After five decades of genius and a legacy in the world of jazz, Duke Ellington died May 24, 1974.
• “Sir Duke,” the 1977 hit by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, is named after Ellington, and is an ode to him and other jazz greats.