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Duke Ellington: Piano Jazz Man

  As a child Ellington did not travel or live a remarkably exciting existence. His life revolved around Washington, D.C. He lived there for the first 24 years of his life and it is where his professional career took shape. Duke Ellington's start in music was slow in his early teens he started to play the piano. Poor music reading skills got him kicked out of more than one large ensemble but he played with small groups that he booked jobs with. They were known as Duke Ellington's Serenaders and by the age of 20 he and his wife Edna could live off of his musical earnings. Ellington's move to New York in 1923 taught him how to compete at a higher level of music and eventually (after a decade of hard work) shaped the originality of his music.

 Duke Ellington's career was elevated to a new level in 1927 when he got a job at the Cotton Club one of the premier nightspots in New York. Playing here meant becoming well known by many white celebrities. It also meant that Ellington's sounds would be broadcast to the country via NBC. For the next four years Ellington and his orchestra flourished in this environment. They added many new members to the orchestra and under a number of different pseudonyms made as many as 180 sides. All of this work and popularity lead to a young Boston critic (R.D. Darrell) writing “Black Beauty” the first serious essay about Ellington to be published.

 Ellington's first trip out of the country was in 1933. His group was brought over by Jack Hylton ,the English bandleader. They performed for six weeks in Britain and then went to both Holland and France to perform. Ellington went abroad with a 14 man orchestra and was joined by singer Ivie Anderson, and dancers Bessie Dudley, Bill Bailey, and Derby Wilson. The performances were everywhere in movie houses, concert halls, and variety theater. The overall warmth and interest of the Europeans lifted the spirits of the orchestra and filled them with new life for the music.

With spirits renewed Ellington and his group resumed an even more strenuous schedule on return in the thirties. They traveled all around the country appearing at venues both large and small. They made appearances in two Hollywood films (Murder at the Vanities and Belle of the Nineties) and even made a short film of their own featuring a young Billie Holiday. The years around the 1940s were described by many as his creative peak. He was able to show his ingenuity by using his small group in ways that others had not, and he moved to larger groups showing even more dimensions. He worked with both his large group and small duets and trios to make some of the most original music of his time. In 1939 Billy Strayhorn (a young composer, arranger, and pianist) came aboard the organization and remained there until his death. He took much of the burden off of Ellingtion's shoulders while also make significant contributions such as Tage the “A” Train. This was a troubling period for Ellington. Both of his parents died one after another and there was a slow down in work produced as a cause. Ellington found a new wife named Beatrice Ellis in 1938 and she became his life partner. He also left his manager Irving Mills and signed with the William Morris Agency and moved to publisher Jack Robbins. The entry in to World War II in 1941 effected Ellington and his group in a number of ways. He lost a few musicians and wrote a song about the war. This was also around the time that there was a dispute between radio broadcasters and the American Society of Composers and Publishers. A few of Ellington's pieces were banned from the radio. There was also a musicians union strike that led to a year and a half break for Ellington's music.

Since the early 30s Duke Ellington talked about his plan to construct a large piece showcasing the story of blacks in America. In 1943 this goal was achieved with the premier of Black, Brown and Beige at Carnegie Hall. The event was highly publicized and large numbers of celebrities were present. All of the proceeds went to the Russian War relief and a huge number of critics talked about the concert afterward. This was the first time a black composer presented an evening of music at the concert hall. The concert raised some great issues that were talked about for years to come, and his concert marks one of the most interesting of his works.

 The first performance at Carnegie Hall was followed by annual performances for the next five years. Each one was given with large special pieces that Ellington created. Ellington was dubbed “The Hot Bach” in a 1944 profile in the New Yorker, because of his growing reputation as a serious composer and the fact that he focused on Jazz. In the mid to late forties Ellington's group experienced a great deal of flux. Many of the members left while many others joined. Ellington also left the Victor record company in 1946 when the contract expired and joined Columbia the next year.

 At the start of the fifties big bands were waning in popularity. Economic pressure broke many groups up in the forties and younger audiences preferred rhythm, blues, and rock 'n' roll. They also preferred individual singers to large groups. Duke Ellington kept up with longer pieces like he had in the 40s and he tried out different venues than he had previously. He wrote a composition for Night Creatures for combined symphony and jazz orchestra's and he wrote pieces for a television production and a Hollywood film. He was the subject of a Time Magazine cover story that talked about how his performance at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival was a turning point in his career. Ellington was once again bursting with ideas and inspiration. The orchestra still traveled across North America performing at many popular venues along the way. They also made trips to Europe in 1950 for the first time since 1939.

 Even after reaching his sixties Ellington still kept up the relentless pace that he always had. He toured, composed, and recorded just as much as ever. This was a time when much more international performances were given. Many more countries that Ellington had never performed in were given a taste. Some of these include India and Japan. Duke Ellington turned to more religious performances in this period of time. He performed in many different churches and finally expressed his religious beliefs that he had held in for so long publicly. Before Ellingtons death from Cancer in 1974 he worked with a large number of well known people. He arranged music for Walt Disney's Mary Poppins as well as the Beatles and the Nutcracker Suite. He also worked with Alvin Ailey on the ballet The River. He worked with musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald.

 Duke Ellington's life was marked with excellence, his achievements changed the music world forever. He will always be remembered for the life that his music breathed in to the hearts of the world. His music affected listeners from more than a dozen countries and his music will live on for decades to come.

There are a number of reputable sites out there that discuss the life of Duke Ellington. His story has been shared many times over and will continue to be shared for years to come.