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Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington (April 29, 1899–May 24, 1974) was an American
jazz composer, pianist, and band leader who has been one of the most influential
figures in jazz, if not in all American music. As a composer and a band leader
especially, Ellington's reputation has increased since his death, with thematic
repackagings of his signature music often becoming best-sellers.
A man of suave demeanor and puckish wit that masked occasional brusqueness,
Ellington preferred to call his style and sound "American music" rather than just
jazz, and liked to describe those who impressed him as "beyond category," including
and especially many of the musicians who served with his orchestra. Some of them
were considered among the giants of jazz in their own right—particularly reedmen
Johnny Hodges, Barney Bigard, Ben Webster, Harry Carney, and Paul Gonsalves;
trumpeters Bubber Miley, Cootie Williams, Clark Terry, William "Cat" Anderson, and
Ray Nance (who also played violin), trombonists Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton, Lawrence
Brown, and Juan Tizol, bassists Jimmy Blanton and Oscar Pettiford, as well as
drummers Sonny Greer, Louis Bellson, and Sam Woodyard.
Many of these musicians remained with Ellington's orchestra for decades. While many
were noteworthy in their own right, it was Ellington's musical genius that melded
them into one of the most well-known orchestral units in the history of jazz. His
compositions were often written specifically for the style and skills of these
individuals, such as "Jeep's Blues" for Johnny Hodges, "Concerto for Cootie" (Do
Nothing 'Til You Hear From Me) for Cootie Williams and "The Mooche" for Tricky Sam
Nanton. He also recorded songs written by his bandsmen, such as Juan Tizol's
"Caravan" and "Perdido" which brought the "Spanish Tinge" to big-band jazz.
Ellington was one of the twentieth century's best-known African-American
celebrities. He recorded for many American record companies, and appeared in
several films. Ellington and his orchestra toured the United States and Europe
regularly before and after World War II.
 Early
life
Ellington's father, James Edward Ellington, born in Lincolnton, North Carolina, USA
on April 15, 1879, was the son of a former slave. He moved to Washington, D.C. in
1886 with his small family. Ellington was born to J.E. and Daisy Kennedy Ellington
who lived in the home of his maternal grandparents at 2129 Ward Place, NW in
Washington D.C. J.E. made blueprints for the United States Navy; he also worked as
a White House butler for additional income. Daisy and J.E. were both piano players,
and at the age of seven Ellington began taking piano lessons from a Mrs.
Clinkscales who lived at 1212 Street NW. The Clinkscales address is often, but
erroneously, given as Ellington's childhood home.
In his autobiography Music is my Mistress Ellington comments he missed more lessons
than what he attended, feeling at the time that playing the piano was not his
talent. Over time, this would change. Ellington sneaked into Frank Holiday's
Poolroom at age fourteen and began to gain a greater respect for music. Hearing a
mentor play the piano ignited Ellington's love for the instrument and he began to
take his piano studies seriously.
Instead of going to an academically-oriented high school, he attended Armstrong
Manual Training School to study commercial art. Three months before he was to
graduate, he left school to pursue his interest in music, and at the age of
seventeen, he began performing professionally. Ellington never made broad claims
for his piano playing, saying that many Washington piano teachers were superior.
The British pianist Stan Tracey has countered this by claiming that Ellington 'had
chops', but often chose to focus on the melody that sprung from a number rather
than to show off his technical ability.
Ellington married Edna Thompson when he was 19, in 1918. She was his childhood
sweetheart.
Early
career
Ellington began his artistic career as a sign painter in Washington, D.C., but by
1923 he had formed a small dance band known as The Washingtonians (which included
drummer Sonny Greer), and moved to New York City. Shortly thereafter, the group
became the house band of the Club Kentucky (often referred to as the "Kentucky
Club"), an engagement which set the stage for the biggest opportunity in
Ellington's life. In 1927, King Oliver turned down a regular booking for his group
as the house band at Harlem's Cotton Club; the offer passed to Ellington. With a
weekly radio broadcast and famous clientele nightly pouring in to see them,
Ellington's popularity was assured. In 1929 Ellington and his band appeared in the
short film Black and Tan.
Ellington's band by now had become a large orchestra and the ranks had been filled
by many men who would become famous in their own right. Johnny Hodges joined the
orchestra in 1928 and stayed until his death in 1970, except for two brief
sabbaticals. Hodges became the band's undisputed leading soloist, the king of
romantic alto saxophone ballads with his swooning, creamy style remaining
influential for years. A master of New Orleans jazz clarinet, Barney Bigard, stayed
with the band for twelve years. Harry Carney was one of the original innovators of
the baritone saxophone, winning each Downbeat magazine poll until the emergence of
Gerry Mulligan. Carney, who also pioneered circular breathing, was the longest
lasting member of the orchestra, joining in 1927 and remaining with the group until
his death in 1974 (just several months after Ellington's). Lawrence Brown brought a
buttery, elegant trombone style that conflicted with that of Joe "Tricky Sam"
Nanton, who was the originator of many unique trombone stylings, most notably the
plunger mute technique. Filling out the rhythm section were guitarist Fred Guy and
drummer Sonny Greer, who stayed with the group until 1950.
One important member of the orchestra, trumpeter Bubber Miley, was present for only
a short period. An early experimenter in jazz trumpet growling, Miley is credited
with morphing the band's style from rigid dance instrumentation to a more "New
Orleans", or "jungle" style. An alcoholic, Miley had to leave the band before they
gained wider notoriety, and died in 1930 at the age of twenty-eight. He was though
an important influence on Cootie Williams, another member of the orchestra
(basically his replacement) in the early years and later.
The 1930s saw Ellington's popularity continue to increase, largely a result of the
promotional skills of Ellington's manager Irving Mills, who got more than his fair
share of co-composer credits. Mills arranged a private train just for the band, so
that they would not have to suffer the indignities of segregated accommodations
while touring the South. Ellington ended his association with Mills in 1937,
although he continued to record under Mills' banner through 1940.
While their United States audience remained mainly African-American in this period,
the Cotton Club had a near exclusive white clientele and the band had a huge
following overseas, demonstrated both in a trip to England in 1933 and a 1934 visit
to the European mainland. The English visit saw Ellington win praise from members
of the 'serious' music community, including composer Constant Lambert.
Ellington managed to have a huge hit composition every few years, which greatly
helped to build his overall reputation ("Mood Indigo" in 1930, "It Don't Mean A
Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" in 1932, "Sophisticated Lady" in 1933, "In A
Sentimental Mood" in 1935, "Caravan" in 1937, "I Let A Song Go Our Of My Heart" in
1938, "Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me" in 1940 and "Take The "A" Train" (written
by Billy Strayhorn, but forever associated with Ellington) in 1941.
Ellington in the
1940s
The band reached a creative peak in the early 1940s, when
Ellington wrote for an orchestra of distinctive voices and displayed
tremendous creativity. Some of the musicians created a sensation in their own
right. The short-lived Jimmy Blanton transformed the use of double bass in
jazz, allowing it to function as a solo rather than a rhythm instrument alone.
Ben Webster too, the Orchestra's first regular tenor saxophonist, started a
rivalry with Johnny Hodges as the Orchestra's foremost voice in the sax
section. Ray Nance joined in, replacing Cootie Williams who had "defected",
contemporary wags claimed, to Benny Goodman. Nance, however, added violin to
the instrumental colours Ellington had at his disposal. A privately made
recording of Nance's first concert date, at Fargo, North Dakota, in November
1940, is probably the most effective display of the band at the peak of its
powers during this period. This recording is one of the first of innumerable
live performances which survive, made by enthusiasts or broadcasters,
significantly expanding the Ducal discography as a result.
Three-minute masterpieces flowed from the minds of Ellington, Billy Strayhorn (from
1939), Ellington's son Mercer Ellington, and members of the Orchestra.
"Cottontail", "Mainstem", "Harlem Airshaft", "Streets of New York" and dozens of
others date from this period.
Ellington's long-term aim became to extend the jazz form from the three-minute
limit of the 78 rpm record side, of which he was an acknowledged master. He had
composed and recorded "Creole Rhapsody" as early as 1931, but it was not until the
1940s that this became a regular feature of Ellington's work. In this, he was
helped by Strayhorn, who had enjoyed a more thorough training in the forms
associated with classical music than Ellington himself. The first of these, "Black,
Brown, and Beige" (1943), was dedicated to telling the story of African-Americans,
the place of slavery, and the church in their history. Unfortunately, starting a
regular pattern, Ellington's longer works were not well received; Jump for Joy, an
earlier musical, closed after only six performances in 1941.
The first recording ban of 1942-3 had a serious effect on all the big bands because
of the increase in royalty payments to musicians its resolution necessitated; the
financial viability of Ellington's operation was under threat, though Ellington's
income as a songwriter ultimately subsidized the Orchestra.
Meanwhile, the development of modern jazz, or bebop and the music industry's shift
to vocalists such as the young Frank Sinatra meant that Ellington's popularity and
status as a trendsetter was under threat. For a time though Ellington continued to
turn out major work, such as the Kay Davis vocal feature "Transblucency" and major
extended compositions such as "Harlem" (1950).
Eventually though, in 1951, Ellington suffered a major loss of personnel, with
Sonny Greer, Lawrence Brown, and most significantly, Johnny Hodges leaving to
pursue other ventures. By 1955, after several years of recording for Capitol,
Ellington no longer had a regular recording affiliation.
Revival of his
career
Ellington's appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival on July 7, 1956 was to return
him to wider prominence. The feature "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue", with
saxophonist Paul Gonsalves's six-minute saxophone solo, had been in the band's book
since 1937, but on this occasion it nearly created a riot. The revived attention
should not have surprised anyone — Hodges had returned to the fold the previous
year, and Ellington's collaboration with Strayhorn had been renewed around the same
time, under terms which the younger man could accept. Such Sweet Thunder (1957),
based on Shakespeare's plays and characters, and The Queen's Suite the following
year (dedicated to Queen Elizabeth II), were products of the renewed impetus which
the Newport appearance had helped to create.
The late 1950s also saw Ella Fitzgerald record her Duke Ellington Songbook with
Ellington and his orchestra, a recognition that Ellington's songs had now become
part of the cultural canon known as the "Great American Songbook".
In the early 1960s, Ellington was between recording contracts, which allowed him to
record with a variety of artists mostly not previously associated with him. In
1962, he participated in a session which produced the "Money Jungle" (United
Artists) album with Charles Mingus and Max Roach, and also recorded with John
Coltrane for Impulse, who also recorded Ellington and his Orchestra with Coleman
Hawkins. Musicians who had previously worked with Ellington returned to the
Orchestra as members: Lawrence Brown in 1960 and Cootie Williams two years later.
Ellington was by now performing all over the world, a significant portion of each
year was now spent making overseas tours, and he formed notable new working
relationships, among which included the Swedish vocalist Alice Babs, and South
African musicians Dollar Brand and Sathima Bea Benjamin (A Morning in Paris,
1963).
Last
years
Ellington was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1965, but was turned down. His
reaction at 67 years old: "Fate is being kind to me. Fate doesn't want me to be
famous too young." He performed his first Concert of Sacred Music, an attempt at
fusing Christian liturgy with jazz, in September of the same year. This concert was
followed by two others of the same type in 1968 and 1973, called the Second and
Third Sacred Concerts, respectively. This caused enormous controversy in what was
already a tumultuous time in the United States. Many saw the Sacred Music suites as
an attempt to reinforce commercial support for organized religion, though Ellington
simply said it was, "the most important thing I've done," perhaps with a touch of
hyperbole.
Though his later work is overshadowed by his music of the early 1940s, Ellington
continued to make vital and innovative recordings, including The Far East Suite
(1966), "The New Orleans Suite" (1970), and "The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse" (1971).
Increasingly, this period of music is being reassessed as people realize how
creative Ellington was right up to the end of his life. However, some critics, such
as James Lincoln Collier, continue to dismiss Ellington's later work.
Ellington was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1966. He was later
awarded several other prizes, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969, and the
Legion of Honor by France in 1973, the highest civilian honors in each country. He
died of lung cancer and pneumonia on May 24, 1974, a month after his 75th birthday,
and was interred in the Woodlawn Cemetery, The Bronx, New York City.
Work in films
and the theatre
Ellington's film work began in 1929 with the short film Black and Tan Fantasy. He
also appeared in the Amos 'n' Andy film Check and Double Check. It was a major hit
and helped introduce Ellington to a wide audience. He and his Orchestra continued
to appear in films throughout the 1930s and 1940s, both in short films and in
features such as Murder at the Vanities (1934). In the late 1950s, his work in
films took the shape of scoring for soundtracks, notably Anatomy of a Murder
(1959), with James Stewart, in which he also appeared fronting a roadhouse combo,
and Paris Blues (1961), which featured Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier as jazz
musicians.
A long-time fan of William Shakespeare, he wrote an original score for Timon of
Athens that was first used in the Stratford Festival production that opened July
29, 1963 for director Michael Langham, who has used it for several subsequent
productions, most recently in an adaptation by Stanley Silverman that expands on
the score with some of Ellington's best-known works.
Ellington's sole book musical, Beggar's Holiday, was staged on Broadway in 1946.
Sophisticated Ladies, an award-winning 1981 musical revue, incorporated many of the
tunes he made famous.
Legacy
Places
In Ellington's birthplace of Washington, D.C., there stands a school dedicated to
his honor and memory as well as a majestic bridge. The Duke Ellington School of the
Arts educates talented students, who are considering careers in the arts, by
providing intensive arts instruction and strong academic programs that prepare
students for post-secondary education and professional careers. The massive Duke
Ellington Bridge, built in 1935, carries Calvert Street over the ravine of Rock
Creek Park, connecting Woodley Park to Adams Morgan. Ellington lived for years in a
townhouse on the corner of Manhattan's Riverside Drive and West 106th Street. After
his death, West 106th Street was officially renamed Duke Ellington Boulevard. A
large memorial to Ellington, created by sculptor Robert Graham, was dedicated in
1997 in New York's Central Park, near Fifth Avenue and 110th Street, an
intersection named Duke Ellington Circle. Although he made two more stage
appearances before his death, Ellington performed what is considered his final
"full" concert in a ballroom at Northern Illinois University on March 20, 1974. The
hall was renamed the Duke Ellington Ballroom in 1980.
Music
Dave Brubeck dedicated "The Duke" (1954) to Ellington and it became a standard
covered by others, both during Ellington's lifetime (such as Miles Davis in 1957 on
Miles Ahead) and posthumously (such as George Shearing in 1992 on I Hear a
Rhapsody: Live at the Blue Note).
Miles Davis, one month after Ellington's death, created his half-hour dedicated
dirge "He Loved Him Madly" (1974) collected on Get Up with It.
Stevie Wonder wrote the song "Sir Duke" as a tribute to Ellington in 1976.
Judy Collins wrote "Song For Duke" in 1975, and included it on her album
Judith.
South African vocalist Sathima Bea Benjamin wrote "Gift of Love" in memory of Duke
Ellington on her 1987 album Love Light.
The Ellington Orchestra itself continued intermittently as a "ghost band", led by
Mercer Ellington (1919–1996), after his father's death.
Other
In 1999, in commemoration of the centenial of his birth, the Pulitzer Board
honoured Ellington with a posthumous special award citation for his life-long body
of work.
Source : Some of the information on this page came
from a Wikipedia article and is licensed under the GNU Documentation
License. ©2008 www.geneticmatrix.com.
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Duke
Ellington - Generator - Biography
