Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Brief History


Photo: Duke Ellington smiles in the studio
  • April 19, 1899 - May 24, 1974
  • Born in Washington D.C.
  • Began piano lessons at age seven
  • Some famous pieces include "Mood Indigo" and "Satin Doll"
Video: Duke Ellington and His Orchestra plays "Satin Doll" (note: Mercer Ellington (son) at 46 sec. mark)
  • Recognized by many as "one of the greatest jazz composers and performers" of all time
  • Composed music for over 50 years
"I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues."

The Man Behind The Music


Photo: (1) Duke enjoys his two favourite pass-times: composing and smoking (2) Duke on the keys
  • Duke was completely dedicated to his music, his tour manager had a hard time keeping him on track, because Duke would play on the piano for a long time
  • Had a strong bond with band mates. On one occasion, the night before a concert, Duke described a new song to his band instead of writing it down on paper. The members of his band completely understood.
  • Was a heavy smoker, died of cancer
  • Paid band members with royalties from earlier hits, during the Depression when the jazz scene took a hard blow
  • Spent spare time composing
  • Wrote first song at age 12- "Soda Pop Meringue"
  • Was an athlete before taking piano seriously, enjoyed baseball
"This isn't piano, this is dreaming."

Career


Photo: (1) Duke Ellington and His Orchestra (2) The Cotton Club where Duke and His Orchestra were one of the few black bands to play for a mainly white audience
  • Began playing in clubs and bars at age seventeen
  • Formed small band called "The Washingtonians"
  • Moved to New York in 1927 (age 28)
  • Played at the Cotton Club with 12 member band called "Duke Ellington and His Orchestra"
  • Toured around the world to places like Europe, Africa, Japan, U.S.A, Canada
  • Recorded numerous albums, composed over 5000 original pieces
"Retiring is a funny word. No one has told me what I'm going to retire to."

Duke And His Orchestra


Photo: Duke Ellington and His Orchestra on stage
  • Each member was highly talented individually, together worked well
  • Notable members include: Sonny Greer- drums, James Miley- trumpet, Cootie Williams- trumpet, Barney Bigard- clarinet, Harry Carney (45 year with Duke)- baritone saxophone/clarinet, Mercer Ellington (Duke's son)- trumpet, Johnny Hodges- alto saxophone, Paul Gonsalves- tenor saxophone
Video: Paul Gonsalves playing challenging solo
  • Duke found inspiration in members and wrote parts according to member's talent, "Concerto For Cootie" for Cootie Williams (trumpeter), Duke knew Cootie could hit high notes
  • Billy Strayhorn was his "ace", collaborated to create masterpieces like "Take The 'A' Train"
Video: Billy Strayhorn playing "Take The 'A' Train"
  • Following death of Strayhorn, Ellington created album called "...And His Mother Called Him Bill"
  • Had a trademark "jungle sound"
  • Compositions reflected Ellington's feelings on segregation, religion, and love
  • Played big band, swing, orchestral jazz style music
"To me Billy Strayhorn was the severest critic, editor. He had the greatest authority. With Billy Strayhorn, I had a great security."

Analysis Of Mood Indigo

  • Unconventional instrument use
  • Traditional use of clarinet-high register, trumpet- middle, trombone- low register
  • Duke reverses traditional order of instrument registers, called "mike-tone"
Video: Duke Ellington and His Orchestra plays "Mood Indigo"

  • 0:00-0:15 Duke introduces piece on piano, very fast then slows down, many chords
  • 0:16-0:56 trombones with mutes, assisted by baritone saxophone, soft and slurred
  • 0:57-1:39 clarinet solo, same style as trombones, many quick runs to high notes then slows down
  • 1:40-2:23 trumpet with mute solo
  • 2:24-3:06 Duke on piano, similar runs as clarinet, bass rhythms
  • 3:06-3:57 piano and bass continue, trombone, clarinet, trumpet join in- play solo pieces again
  • 3:58-4:04 closing, all instruments play
  • throughout: bass accompaniment, same riff apparent in different instrument sections
"There is hardly any money interest in art, and music will be there when money is gone."

Impact

  • Leading musician in big band jazz orchestral pieces
  • Developed own style that was recognized worldwide
  • Focused on musical form and composition
  • First to use "call-and-response" technique in music, evident in pieces like "Concerto For Cootie" and "Cotton Tail"
Video: Ryan Kisor plays "Concerto For Cootie"
  • Experimented with instrument use, didn't use instruments in traditional range
  • Many of Duke's tunes became "jazz standard", which meant his techniques in compositions were mimicked in other jazz pieces by other composers
"A problem is a chance for you to do your best."

Accomplishments


Photo: Duke Ellington receives the Freedom Medal from Richard Nixon

Merely a few accomplishments:
  • Received Honorary Doctorate Degree from Yale University and Morgan State College
  • Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1966
  • Inducted into Grammy Hall Of Fame
  • Appeared in half a dozen films, like "Black And Tan Fantasy"
  • Received Freedom Medal from Richard Nixon (see above)
Video: Watch "Black And Tan Fantasy" in three parts

"Fate is being kind to me. Fate doesn't want me to be too famous too young."

Duke's Legacy

  • His music is played by many worldwide to this day, for example, the A.Y. Jackson's jazz orchestra played "Satin Doll" and "Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me" at the most recent Music Night
Video: A.Y. Jackson Secondary School Jazz Orchestra plays "Satin Doll"
  • Many jazz artists have covered his music, for instance, Thelonious Monk Plays The Music Of Duke Ellington (1955), Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Duke Ellington Songbook (1957), Duke Ellington & John Coltrane (1962), Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins (1962)

  • Following Duke's death, son Mercer Ellington lead band
  • Mercer's son, Edward Kennedy Ellington II plays music too, recently created CD titled Thank You Uncle Edward (2008)
“If you write it, that’s giving; that’s the investment. When you hear it back you get back the gross and your system automatically takes out the investment – enjoy.”

Photo Gallery










  1. Father and son, Mercer and Duke
  2. Duke Ellington shares a loving moment with Ray Nance
  3. Sonny Greer's extensive drum set that was mainly for show
  4. Duke on stage
  5. Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington smoking
  6. Duke Ellington surrounded by band mates
  7. Highly talented trumpeter, Cootie Williams
  8. The Duke on the cover of Time magazine

Bibliography



Videos:
  • Duke Ellington The Piano Prince and His Orchestra, Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney © 1998, Scholastic
  • On The Road With Duke Ellington, Robert Drew © 2002
Books:
  • Yanow, Scott. Duke Ellington. New York: Michael Friedman Publishing Group, Inc., 1999.
  • Frankl, Ron. Duke Ellington: Bandleader and Composer. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1988.
  • Ellington, Edward Kennedy "Duke". Music Is My Mistress. New York: Da Capo Press, Inc., 1973.
Websites:
  • http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9286338. 2008. A&E Television Networks. May 20, 2008.
  • http://www.schirmer.com/default.aspx?TabId=2419&State_2872=2&composerId_2872=2311. 2006. Schirmer, Inc. and Associated Music Publishers, Inc. May 20, 2008
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Ellington. 2008. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. May 24, 2008
  • http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/ellington. The Library Of Congress. May 24, 2008.