Duke Ellington Biography
In a career that spanned more than half a century, Duke Ellington (1899-1974) took jazz from smoky nightclubs to prestigious concert halls, and in the process changed the public’s perception of the music from something vaguely unsavory to a legitimate American art form deserving of respect. Ellington remains the most important composer in the history of jazz, as well as the leader of one of jazz’s most influential large bands, which he held together for nearly 50 years.
Ellington’s talent-heavy band—which over the years included such notable players as Ben Webster, Johnny Hodges, Jimmy Blanton, Ray Nance and Cootie Williams—was the perfect proving ground for his formally and harmonically advanced compositions. He tailored his writing around the talents of his musicians, many of whom served lengthy tenures with Ellington. In addition to his recordings, he wrote stage musicals and movie scores, and many of his instrumental works were adapted into vocal songs that became popular standards. Ellington’s restless creativity was matched by his prodigious work ethic; for most of his career, he toured constantly and recorded prolifically, leaving a massive body of recorded work that continues to enchant and inspire new generations of listeners.
Edward Kennedy Ellington grew up in Washington, D.C., the son of relatively affluent parents. He began piano lessons at age seven, was already composing music by his teens, and dropped out of high school to pursue music full-time. He played piano in various jazz and ragtime bands, and achieved local success as a society pianist. In late 1917, he formed his first group, the Duke’s Serenaders, which became a popular attraction at society balls and embassy parties, performing for both African-American and white audiences. In 1923, the band’s drummer Sonny Greer got an offer of work in New York, and Ellington and his bandmates decided to give up their successful hometown career to try their luck in New York. The band won a residency at a club in Times Square, before moving uptown to launch a three-year residency at Harlem’s Cotton Club. The Cotton Club gig led to national fame for Ellington, thanks to frequent network radio broadcasts of the band’s performances there.
Ellington and his band began making records in 1924, recording under different names for various labels. But Ellington’s real commercial breakthrough came in 1928, when he scored national hits with “Black and Tan Fantasy,” “Doin’ the New Low Down” and “The Mooche.” The following year, the band appeared on Broadway in the George Gershwin musical Show Girl. In 1930, Ellington and band made the first of numerous movie appearances in the film Check and Double Check; the same year, Ellington scored a hit with “Three Little Words,” featuring a young Bing Crosby.
Ellington ended his run at the Cotton Club in February 1931 to take his 15-man orchestra on the road; he would continue to tour, almost continuously, for the next 43 years. Ellington took the band on triumphant tours of England and Europe, where they received praise from members of the serious music community. When the group toured America’s segregated Southern states, the musicians traveled in private rail cars in order to avoid some of the indignities that routinely awaited African-Americans in the segregated states at the time.
As swing dancing became popular among young audiences in the ’30s, Ellington’s records balanced emotional nuance and compositional sophistication with the commercial demands of danceability. In addition to recording with his full orchestra, he also cut sessions with smaller groups drawn from the big band’s membership. Ellington scored a series of major hits through the ’30s and early ’40s, including such signature tunes as “Mood Indigo,” “Rockin’ In Rhythm,” “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” “Sophisticated Lady,” “In A Sentimental Mood,” “Caravan,” “Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me” and the iconic swing anthem “Take the ‘A’ Train.” The latter number was written by composer/arranger/pianist Billy Strayhorn, who joined the Ellington organization in 1939. Strayhorn soon became Ellington’s chief collaborator, and a crucial element in his musical evolution.
It took World War II and the American Federation of Musicians’ 1942-1944 recording ban to slow Ellington’s career momentum. But he used the temporary interruption as an opportunity to showcase his extended compositions on stage, inaugurating a series of annual recitals at Carnegie Hall with the 1943 premiere of Black, Brown and Beige, a musically and thematically elaborate meditation on the struggles of African-Americans. Ellington’s commercial impact diminished in the post-World War II years. But, even as big-band swing declined in popularity and jazz musicians began to turn towards bebop, Ellington kept his band on the road and maintained his creative output, generating ambitious new material and writing scores for such projects as the 1946 Broadway musical Beggar’s Holiday and the 1950 film The Asphalt Jungle.
The early ’50s were relatively lean years for Ellington, but he made a high-profile comeback at 1956’s Newport Jazz Festival, during which a performance of “Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue,” featuring saxophonist Paul Gonsalves’ six-minute solo, caused a sensation. That celebrated appearance revitalized Ellington’s career, winning him a spot on the cover of Time magazine and a new deal with Columbia Records. The first release of the new contract was Ellington at Newport, which became the best-selling album of his career. The new long-playing album format proved a perfect vehicle for Ellington, freeing him from the need to write dance hits and providing the extra time for his extended compositions, which would become the focus of his recording efforts for the rest of his career. Over the next several years, he released such well-regarded albums as The Cosmic Scene, Three Suites, The Nutcracker Suite, Piano in the Background and Piano in the Foreground, as well as the Count Basie collaboration First Time! The Count Meets the Duke.
His comeback also made Ellington’s band an in-demand live act once again, and in 1958 he returned to Europe for the first of a series of successful tours. He would remain active through the ’60s and early ’70s, continuing to record, tour and score films. He also finally had a major Broadway hit, albeit posthumously, with the all-Ellington revue Sophisticated Ladies, which ran for nearly two years beginning in March 1981. The show’s success was just one indication of the high esteem in which Ellington’s work continues to be held.
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