Duke Ellington

Early Years (1899-1927)

  1. Born on April 29, 1899 as Edward Kennedy Ellington in Washington, DC
    1. Serious about music as a teenager and learned to play the piano, began emulating local ragtime pianists.
    2. Formed his own group “Duke Ellington’s Serenaders” and, by 1920, was making enough at music to support his wife (Edna) and son (Mercer).
  2. Moved to New York in 1923:
    1. Formed a group called “the Washingtonians” and played between regional tours at the Kentucky Club.
    2. Ellington gradually added musicians with distinctive styles to his band, and the sound evolved from a “typical” dance/social band to one that played jazz.
    3. Pieces such as East St. Louis Toodle-O, Immigration Blues, Black and Tan Fantasy, and Creole Love Call demonstrate Ellington’s emerging originality.

The Cotton Club (1927-32)

  1. Ellington and his band were hired at Harlem’s Cotton Club, one of New York's premier nightspots, located in Harlem at 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue.
    1. While celebrities and socialites flocked there to soak up African-American entertainment and Prohibition liquor, listeners around the nation could tune into the sounds of Duke Ellington's orchestra via broadcasts on NBC. As composer and bandleader, Ellington flourished in this environment.”
    2. The band expanded to 12 pieces – 3 reeds, 3 trumpets, 2 trombones, piano, banjo/guitar, bass, and drums. Among the musicians at this time were Johnny Hodges, Barney Bigard, Cootie Williams, and Juan Tizol.
  2. Ellington recorded over 180 “sides” between late 1927 and early 1931.

First Trip Abroad (1933)

  1. English bandleader Jack Hylton brought the Ellington band overseas for performances in Britain, Holland, and France.
  2. The reception was mixed. While some of the criticism may have stung Ellington, overall the trip seems to have proven invigorating. As he wrote later in his memoirs, "The atmosphere in Europe, the friendship, and the serious interest in our music shown by critics and musicians alike put new spirit into us."

The Swing Era (1933-1942)

  1. Upon returning to the States, Ellington resumed his varied activities, including appearances in dance halls, theaters, and clubs; radio broadcasts; recording; and film appearances.
  2. They returned to the Cotton Club (located downtown on 48th St. by this time) for a brief time in 1937-8.
  3. In addition to extended works such as Black, Brown and Beige, Ellington continued to compose shorter works (limited by the 3 minute format of the 78 RPM record) such Echoes of Harlem, Braggin' in Brass, Jack the Bear, Harlem Air Shaft, Concerto for Cootie, Ko-Ko, Cotton Tail, and Main Stem.
  4. The years around 1940 are often considered a peak period for Ellington and his band because of the success of his compositions and the quality of his musicians. Also, Billy Strayhorn joined Ellington as arranger, composer, and pianist in 1939; he remained until his death in 1967. Strayhorn contributed such works as Chelsea Bridge and Take the “A” Train.

Carnegie Hall and the 40’s

  1. On January 23, 1943, Ellington performed his extended work Black, Brown, and Beige at Carnegie Hall. Ellington performed there several more times over the next few years.
  2. In contrast to the relative stability of personnel during the thirties, Ellington's orchestra experienced a great deal of flux in the mid-to-late forties. Among the major defections were Ben Webster (in 1943), Juan Tizol (1944), Rex Stewart (1945), and Otto Hardwick (1946); Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton died on 20 July 1946 while on tour in California. Key additions to the band included vocalist Kay Davis (1944), High-note trumpeter William "Cat" Anderson (1945), saxophonist and clarinetist Russell Procope (1945), and trombonist Tyree Glenn (1947) and Quentin "Butter" Jackson (1948).
  3. Ellington left the Victor record company in 1946 and, after a short time with the Musicraft label, signed with Columbia.

The 1950’s

  1. Economic pressure and changes in musical preferences caused problems for big bands.
    1. These may have contributed to personnel changes in Ellington’s band. Hodges, Brown, and Greer were among those who left, although Hodges, Brown, and Tizol returned. Also, Paul Gonsalves, Clark Terry, Louie Bellson, and Sam Woodyard (1955) offset three losses somewhat.
    2. The steadily shifting membership changed the orchestra's sound and style and left its mark on Ellington's composing, which was tailored to specific instrumental voices in the ensemble.
  2. Ellington continued to turn out longer works as well as the music for the Otto Preminger film Anatomy of a Murder.
  3. While critics gave mixed marks to the new band members and works some citing a decline in previous standards, others defending the changes they generally agreed that Ellington's triumphant appearance at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival provided a much-needed boost of morale. Soon after, Ellington appeared as the subject of a Time magazine cover story that pronounced the concert a "turning point in a career" demonstrating that "Ellington himself had emerged from a long period of quiescence and was once again bursting with ideas and inspiration".
  4. The band continued to travel in the US and in Europe (1950, 1958, and 1959).

1960-1974

  1. Ellington continued to write, record, and tour.
  2. He received numerous awards, prizes, and honorary degrees, and he was celebrated both at home and abroad for his musical achievements.
  3. He embarked on more international tours than at an earlier period in his career, traveling to Europe, the Middle East and India in 1963, Japan in 1964, Latin America and Mexico in 1968, and the Soviet Union in 1971. These journeys sometimes inspired new compositions, as with the Far East Suite (1964), the Latin America Suite (1968), the Afro-Eurasian Eclipse (1970), and the Goutelas Suite (1971).
  4. Ellington composed music for three Sacred Concerts between 1965 and 1973. Performances took place in various churches and cathedrals and featured his orchestra, vocal soloists, choirs, and dancers.
  5. He recorded with various other musicians, among them Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Coleman Hawkins, and such younger luminaries as John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, and Max Roach.
  6. During Ellington's last decade three of his closest associates died: his personal physician Dr. Arthur Logan in 1973, Johnny Hodges in 1970, and, perhaps the hardest loss of all, Billy Strayhorn in 1967. Ellington paid tribute to these individuals, and to many he had known and worked with throughout his career, in his memoirs, Music is My Mistress, published in 1973.
  7. Ellington passed away from cancer on 24 May 1974.

Return to the Survey of Popular Music Class Notes Page