Essay on A Portrait Of Duke Ellington By Tracy Frech

Langston Hughes was one of the first black men to express the spirit of blues and jazz

He had more than two thousand songs that where a hit at that time. He

As time went on Miles Davis III became a part of the music society. He first played

dancing at the age of two. His parents were also musicians, actor and dancer.Hines had

to the utmost of his dreams. At such a crucial time in the history of

King’s celebrated music career emerged from very modest beginnings. At the age of 18, King started to perform his renditions of traditional Delta blues music at churches around local areas in Mississippi; but his talents saw him gradually travel further up north over the years, as many blues musicians, and many other African-Americans

B.B. King or ‘The King of Blues’ was born in Itta Bena, Mississippi. His young parents unfortunately divorced, and his mother passed away when he was 9 years old which left him to be raised by his grandmother. King attended school until the 10th grade when he dropped out of school and started to work at a cotton gin near his hometown. Despite dropping out of school he continued to teach himself math and different languages well into his later life. He worked at the cotton gin earning a penny a pound and singing gospel music on street corners. His musical career started when he was studying under his cousin Bukka White. King met a woman and was married at 17 years old. “I guess I was looking for love, because I never had anybody I believed truly loved me” (B.B. King). The marriage quickly came to end when they got a divorce months later. “Since my early childhood, I had a problem trying to open up. Please open me up. Look inside!

era as he grew up. As Ellington became an adolescent, the entertainment world was undergoing rapid, change. The change was driven by the deep, persuasive shift in the

Out of the streets of New Orleans, a new form of music arose. This new type of music was not known as African or European, but simply American. It was jazz. In 1900 jazz first developed, but it wasn’t until the

Born on April 29, 1899 in Washington D.C, Duke was raised by two musically talented parents; James Edward Ellington and Daisy Kennedy Ellington. At the age of seven Duke began studying piano and music. His mother, who also played the piano, oversaw his education. Duke got the name “Duke” for his gentlemanly ways. At the age of fifteen he wrote his first song “Soda Fountain Rag” inspired by his job as a soda jerk. Duke began preforming professionally at the age of seventeen. At the age of nineteen, Duke

day the piano accompanist did not show up so Basie took his place, needless to say he

to use jazz rhythms and dialect to depict the life of urban blacks in his work (The

His first compassion ever “Soda Fountain Rag” was at the age of 15, he started playing professionally at 17, Duke Ellington 50 years of compositions, and a lot of his great work came from his teenage years and his late 20s. in 1923 duke and some of his friends came to New York they form the group the Washingtonians, they took part in the Harlem Renaissance and started playing in homes for income.

Jazz is consider one of the most influential types of music an America History. Some of the greatest artist in the world have contribute to the success jazz have had not only on America History but throughout the world. This paper will explain the history of jazz, where it all came from and the effect it has had on the America Culture.

Most of Gershwin's early childhood was spent playing sports, which he was good at, and it interested him. It wasn't until Gershwin was 12