Duke Ellington- by Olga Gonzalez

Although it is true that the Great Depression was one of the worst economic tragedies that brought desolation and desperation to the United States, it is also true that this economic impact allowed the jazz and swing era to flourish. It was through this jazz and swing era that people would feel temporarily happy in the middle of such a devastating financial crisis. Hence, the popularity of Big band music and Swing music allowed many artists, such as “Duke” Ellington, to develop and provide jazz and swing music.

            Edward Kennedy Ellington, one of the “greatest, and in the long run the most important, creative figure in… the history of jazz” (Schuller,36) was born on April 29,1899. Edward Ellington, better known as “Duke” Ellington, began his career in New York in the Cotton Club, a club that served whites only and was controlled by bootleggers. Later, on January 23,1943 Ellington had the opportunity to perform his first concert at Carnegie Hall.  There, his longest and most extended piece of music was presented: “Black, Brown and Beige: A Tone Parallel to the History of the American Negro” That depicted the black history of the African American contribution during the World War II. Another famous piece of music by Ellington is called  “Black and Tan Fantasy” and depicts the twelve bar blues and carries a touch of tragedy, and sorrow. Duke and his musicians created a unique sound with the plunger that had never been used before and through this they generated dubbed jungle sounds that soon became Duke’s trademark. Duke was a complete jazz musician who composed, arranged, played the piano and was a leader in the orchestra. He was inspired by trumpet soloist Bubber Miley whom he would refer to as “ beyond category”, and Duke himself can easily be described as a musician “beyond category”.

However, his music was not the only thing that gained him popularity but it was also his elegance and handsome looks that allowed him to be well known. In fact, his nickname “Duke” derives from his elegant etiquette and his handsome looks. Ellington was a great musician who was well liked by everyone and had a unique music style that other bands could never imitate. Duke had his own style of composition, his own voicing of instrumentation and unique tonal qualities. Unfortunately Duke Ellington died at the age of 75 due to cancer. However his numerous music creations of during the jazz and swing era allowed him to leave a legacy “of an incomparable musical career as a pianist, lyricist, arranger, conductor, composer… poet, and civil right supporter…” ( Current, 171).

                                                        

Works Cited:

Duke Ellington
Author(s): Gloster B. Current. Reviewed work(s):
Source: The Black Perspective in Music, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Autumn, 1974), pp. 172-178 Published by: Foundation for Research in the Afro-American Creative Arts
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1214233. Accessed: 18/11/2012 15:06

Duke Ellington and "Black, Brown and Beige": The Composer as Historian at Carnegie Hall Author(s): Harvey G. Cohen. Reviewed work(s):
Source: American Quarterly, Vol. 56, No. 4 (Dec., 2004), pp. 1003-1034 Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40068293. Accessed: 18/11/2012 15:47

Jazz and Composition: The Many Sides of Duke Ellington, the Music's Greatest     Composer Author(s): Gunther Schuller. Reviewed work(s):
Source: Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Vol. 46, No. 1 (Oct., 1992), pp. 36-51
Published by: American Academy of Arts & Sciences
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3824163. Accessed: 18/11/2012 15:44