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
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."
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."
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.”
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.