SCD + Duke Ellington in collaboration with Shane Chalke B.E. Jazz

ABOUT
DUKE
ELLINGTON
(1899 – 1974)
Duke Ellington (born April 29,
1899, Washington D.C. – died
May 24, 1974, New York City), is
regarded as one of the twentieth
century’s best known African
American personalities through
his career as a jazz composer and
band leader. Ellington’s guidance lasted more than half a century, setting the bar
for generations of jazz, pop, theatre, and soundtrack composers. His distinctive
ensemble sounds within Western music were achieved through new harmonies to
blend individual musician sounds and emphasize congruent sections with a variety
of instrument combinations.
Ellington began his professional career at the age of 17, moving to New York as a
pianist while gathering the members of his band (1923). Starting with six members,
the ensemble grew to 11 as regulars performing at the Cotton Club (1926). The
group performed music for burlesque, comedy, and vaudeville acts which would be
broadcasted weekly, creating a national audience. Ellington’s orchestra continued
to grow in members and popularity which led to their first European tour in the
early 1930s.
After a fifty-year career, the band completed over 20,000 performances throughout
North America, Europe, West Africa, South America, Asia, and Australia. Their
popularity wavered slightly after the end of World War II with the fall of the
big-band era, but Ellington’s attendance at the Newport Jazz Festival revived the
group (1956). Ensemble members such as trumpeter Cootie Williams, cornetist Rex
Stewart, trombonist Lawrence Brown, and many more who have come and gone
from the ensemble have made their own impact as influential jazz artists.
Ellington himself composed over 2,000 songs such as “It Don’t Mean a Thing if
It Ain’t Got That Swing”, “Sophisticated Lady”, “Mood Indigo”, and “Solitude.”
Ellington’s impact in the industry brought a great variety of awards such as the
Pulitzer Prize, Medal of Freedom in 1969 by President Richard M Nixon, the French
Legion of Honor in 1973, and over 10 Grammy Awards. His contributions towards
American music during the big-band era still remains influential to this day.
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