Duke Ellington

Edward Kennedy (“Duke”) Ellington (1899-1974) was born in Washington, DC. He began studying piano at age seven, and was influenced at an early age by ragtime pianists.

• ​

He was nicknamed “Duke” by a childhood friend who admired his air of sophistication and elegance.

​

• Ellington became famous not only as a talented jazz pianist and bandleader, but also as an arranger and composer.
• He wrote music for 3-minute records, for movies, the theater, orchestras, and church. In all, he wrote over 2000 pieces of music!
• ​

Jazz is often considered as “America’s classical music.” Jazz originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, during the early 1900s when musicians mixed ragtime, marches, blues, and African American musical traditions.

​

Syncopa

One of jazz music’s most distinguishable features is the use of syncopation, a rhythm that includes an accent on a normally weak beat in music.

​

​

He also helped create the big band sound, which fueled the "swing" era in the 1930’s and ‘40’s. A big band typically had 12 to 25 musicians playing saxophones, clarinets, trumpets, trombones, and a 4-piece rhythm section composed of drums, acoustic bass, piano, and guitar.

​

It Don’t Mean a Thing

Click

here

to listen

Click

here

to

listen

Don’t Get Around Much

click

here

to

listen

QUIZ

Please click here to take your Duke Ellington quiz

click here to go back to the beginning of the slideshow

​

click here to go back to the beginning