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ABC Jazz Home > Just Played > Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Artist Note
Duke Ellington's Wikipedia Entry
Biography
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions. In the words of Bob Blumenthal of The Boston Globe "In the century since his birth, there has been no greater composer, American or otherwise, than Edward Kennedy Ellington. " A major figure in the history of jazz, Ellington's music stretched into various other genres, including blues, gospel, film scores, popular, and classical. His career spanned more than 50 years and included leading his orchestra, composing an inexhaustible songbook, scoring for movies, composing stage musicals, and world tours. Several of his instrumental works were adapted into songs that became standards. Due to his inventive use of the orchestra, or big band, and thanks to his eloquence and extraordinary charisma, he is generally considered to have elevated the perception of jazz to an art form on a par with other traditional genres of music. His reputation increased after his death and the Pulitzer Prize Board bestowed on him a special posthumous honor in 1999. Ellington called his music "American Music" rather than jazz, and liked to describe those who impressed him as "beyond category. " These included many of the musicians who were members of his orchestra, some of whom are considered among the best in jazz in their own right, but it was Ellington who melded them into one of the most well-known jazz orchestral units in the history of jazz. He often composed specifically for the style and skills of these individuals, such as "Jeep's Blues" for Johnny Hodges, "Concerto for Cootie" for Cootie Williams, which later became "Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me" with Bob Russell's lyrics, and "The Mooche" for Tricky Sam Nanton and Bubber Miley. 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. Several members of the orchestra remained there for several decades. After 1941, he frequently collaborated with composer-arranger-pianist Billy Strayhorn, whom he called his "writing and arranging companion. " Ellington recorded for many American record companies, and appeared in several films. Ellington led his band from 1923 until his death in 1974. His son Mercer Ellington, who had already been handling all administrative aspects of his father's business for several decades, led the band until his own death in 1996. At that point, the original band dissolved. Paul Ellington, Mercer's youngest son and executor of the Duke Ellington estate, kept the Duke Ellington Orchestra going from Mercer's death onwards.
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Recently Played on ABC Jazz.

| Song | Concerto For Cootie |
| Artist | Duke Ellington |
| Album | The Great Paris Concert |
| Label | Atlantic Jazz |
| Year | 1963 |

| Song | Solitude |
| Artist | Duke Ellington |
| Album | The Duke |
| Label | Columbia |
| Year | 1958 |

| Song | Acht O'Clock Rock |
| Artist | Duke Ellington |
| Album | ...And His Mother Called Him Bill |
| Label | Bluebird |
| Year | 1967 |

| Song | Blood Count |
| Artist | Duke Ellington |
| Album | ...And His Mother Called Him Bill |
| Label | Bluebird |
| Year | 1967 |

| Song | Mood Indigo |
| Artist | Duke Ellington |
| Album | The Duke |
| Label | Columbia |
| Year | 1958 |
Media
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- YouTube Duke Ellington It dont mean a thing 1943 2:44
- YouTube Duke Ellington C Jam Blues 1942 3:04
- YouTube Duke Ellington Take The A Train 6:08
- YouTube Ella Fitzgerald Duke Ellington It Dont Mean A Thing If It Aint Got That Swing 7:15
- YouTube Duke Ellington and his orchestra 8:19
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Links
Artist Website
On the ABC
- ABC Classic FM Music Details: Saturday 2 July 2011
- Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Carnegie Hall December 11th ...
- Perspectives 09/04/2005: Street Stories
- Radio National - Nocturne 31/10/2004
- Nigel Kennedy - The Music Show - 20 February 2010
- The Planet - 24 October 2005 - Ramón Valle
- Sunday Afternoon Program Guide - Previous Programs
- Music-St. Louis Blues - Counterpoint - 10 November 2008
- Re-release of Johnny Hodges vintage saxophone - The Music ...
- The Planet - 12 April 2002 - Kim Scanlon
Elsewhere on the Web
- The Official Website of Jazz Legend Duke Ellington

- Satin Doll | Duke Ellington Song - Yahoo! Music

- Sony Music: Duke Ellington

Links suggested here are generated automatically. The ABC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Page created on Jun 25, 2009. 4:44pm and updated on Dec 30, 2011. 6:54pm.









Comments
What would be be without the Duke? He was and always will be Jazz.
recommend this
Duke to me, is "The Emperor" in terms of jazz royalty. If I were to pick the greatest live jazz concert I ever attended, it would be Duke's live performance at Melbourne's Festival Hall many decades ago when I was a wide-eyed young jazz lover. To say that astonishing band was star-studded, would be a gross understatement! - Cat Anderson, Cootie Williams, Rufus 'Speedy'Jones, Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, Lawrence Brown and more, all right there in front of me in their smart band uniforms. Even the way the guys loosely wandered on stage one at a time had style! That band was as hot as the night on which it took place, but how blessed I was to be there. I wonder if any other readers remember that thrilling night? (I recall being driven there with some other passionate jazz lovers whose names I fully recall, in a wonderful old Morris Oxford, if my memory is correct.) The band played all those superb old tunes - we sang along with "I'm Beginning To See The Light" - along with excerpts from the then new "Far East Suite." The highlight that night musically for me was "Harlem", from "Black, Brown & Beige".
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