Duke Ellington Essay

Kennedy Ellington (known as “Duke Ellington”) was a famous American pianist and bandleader of an jazz orchestra. He was a major figure in the Jazz industry which he composed an array of songs for both onstage, screen, and song albums for more than half a century. One of the most exclusive tones in Western music to what is called “American Jazz”. His music career started when he was just 7 years old where he began to study on how to play the piano and then earned his unique nickname “Duke” for his

Duke Ellington was a famous African American musician. He was a very important figure in African American history. In the following we will be talking about his life. Talking about what Duke Ellington accomplished. Finally will be his legacy. I hope by the end of this you will see Duke Ellington like how I see him a legend in African American history. Duke Ellington was born on April 29, 1899 to James and Daisy Ellington in Washington D.C. When he was seven is when he began to study how to play the

thus evolved into big band jazz. Duke Ellington’s Orchestra is an example of a big band that depicted the art form of jazz and with the help of Billy Strayhorn it gained popularity, as well as jazz. Billy Strayhorn’s impact on the development of jazz was through his impact on the Duke Ellington Orchestra, compositions and arrangements of jazz songs, and influence on other musicians. To begin with, jazz evolved due to the popularity of big bands like the Duke Ellington Orchestra that brought this art

Duke Ellington: The Music, Politics, and his Story Duke Ellington was a musical and political genius; he was “America’s only original musical mind.” He was not only a performer, but a composer. He learned the craft of composing by observing others instead of disciplined study. One important factor of Ellington’s music was its relation to black heritage and African American history. His symphony “Black, Brown, and Beige” displayed the African American struggle in America. Not only did Ellington

plays second fiddle to no one” Edward Kenny Ellington was born on April 29, 1899 to James Edward Ellington and daisy Ellington in Washington dc. Edward was born in to a family of musician both of his parents played the piano. At the sage of seven he began taking piano lessons, by his teenage years he was already writing his own music. 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

The life of Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday Two of the most influential Jazz musicians of their time were Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday. Duke Ellington was one of the most successful musicians, changing the way the world saw Jazz and making it an American icon. Billie Holiday was known for her incredible voice, which was known as one of the greatest Jazz voices of all time. Both Ellington and Holiday’s music was the influence for the types of Jazz seen today. All in all, they both made major

Duke Ellington composed thousands of pieces throughout his career. Ellington's music made him stand out and allowed his listeners to have many experiences they had never had before. One of his most popular songs was “It Don’t Mean a Thing, if It Ain’t Got That Swing”. Duke Ellington’s song, “It Don’t Mean a Thing,” was written in the summer of 1931. The piece was released on February 2, 1932, on the Brunswick Record label. Ellington hired vocalist, Ivie Anderson, to sing the piece and appear on the

Billy Strayhorn Over the course of the 20th century, perhaps no composer was as accomplished, as prolific, as loved as Edward Kennedy Ellington. For decades, Ellington — known as “Duke” — created thousands of timeless, essential jazz compositions. As a bandleader, pianist, and composer, Ellington’s contributions to jazz and his breadth of work were unmatched. Despite Ellington’s genius, there was another composer — arguably as talented and unique — that shadowed Ellington’s every step, ultimately

Another chapter I would also include him in would be Chapter 5, ‘How Swing Differs from Early Jazz’. I would include Mingus in this chapter as well because it talks so much of his most influential Jazz artist, and at one point fellow band mate, Duke Ellington. I feel like Mingus truly does have enough variance in his music to help point out and draw the fine line between early jazz and the newer ‘swing’ jazz. The main differences between these two categories of jazz are that in early jazz, you were

dance, and even language. Swing fans had their own clothing style and built a social phenomenon around it. With many dances coming and going the swing fans kept on dancing. 3. Name some of the specific innovations Duke Ellington brought to jazz in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Duke Ellington brought some specific innovations to jazz in the