Edward Kennedy ‘Duke’ Ellington was born in Washington D.C. on 29 April 1899 and died in New York City in 1974. His father and mother both played the piano. At the age of seven, he received piano lessons himself. His mother made sure he always looked neatly groomed. This worked out so well that in his surroundings he was called ‘Duke’. ‘Duke’ was a passionate baseball fan, and he earned some extra money by selling peanuts during games.
1910s
Only at the age of 14, Duke gets a taste for playing the piano. He writes his first composition ‘Soda Fountain Rag’, probably inspired by his job as a bartender. You can hear this one here:
More than 1,000 more compositions would follow, many of them destined to be played on a 78-rpm record. Many of these became jazz standards.
He now also takes music lessons to improve his technique and to master notation. At the age of 17, he leaves school to perform here and there, while painting during the day. At 18, he forms his own band, ‘The Duke’s Serenaders’. Instead of being satisfied with the successful gigs, he leaves for Harlem NYC with musical friends to get a piece of the ‘Harlem Renaissance’. This fails and ‘Duke’ and his friends return penniless to Washington D.C.
1920s
Still, Ellington will return to Harlem NYC in 1923 where he got a four-year contract at the Hollywood Club. He became bandleader of a 10-piece band. With this orchestra that gradually came to be called ‘Duke Ellington Orchestra’, Ellington played all his life. The orchestra still tours the world under the direction of Ellington’s youngest son Paul.
Ellington wrote a few songs for the ‘Chocolate Kiddles’, a revue that toured several European cities in 1925. You can hear an excerpt from this revue, played and sung by Johnny Dunn and Jake Green, here:
By now, the band had a recognizable sound thanks to Ellington’s innovative arrangements and piano playing. In 1927, the prestigious ‘Cotton Club’ contracted the band after a successful audition. The repertoire was broad, consisting mainly of songs and tunes from revues. Audiences flocked, moreover, the performances were heard weekly on the radio. He recorded several songs with singer Adelaide Hall, of which ‘Creole Love Call’, became a world hit. You can hear the original recording here.
1930s
In the early 1930s, Ellington records several films. In ‘Check and Double Check’, the orchestra plays his ‘Old Man Blues’ during a dance scene.
During the Great Depression, Duke Ellington’s orchestra managed to survive. In 1933, he recruits singer Ivie Anderson and together they produce the hit ‘It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing). In the following recording, you can hear Ella Fitzgerald sing the song, accompanied by the Duke Ellington Orchestra (1965). Ella also shows she has mastered scat singing. That is singing on meaningless words.
Other songs from that era include: ‘‘Mood Indigo’(1930), ‘Sophisticated Lady’(1933), ‘Solitude‘(1934) and ‘In a Sentimental Mood’(1935).
During this period, he and his orchestra performed several times in England, Scotland, France and Ellington writes series of compositions around a specific musician. ‘Jeep’s Blues‘ was bested for Johnny Hodges, ‘Yearning for Love’ for Lawrence Brown, ‘Trumpet in Spades’ for Rex Steward, ‘Echoes of Harlem’ for Cootie Williams and ‘Clarinet Lament‘ for Barney Bigard. These compositions perfectly matched the style and technical skill of each.
A well-known song like ‘Caravan’ also dates from this period (1937). Incidentally, this song was composed by Juan Tizol, one of the members of Ellington’s band. You can see a recent version here, played at the 2021 Big Band Jazz Party. A nice band, no show suits, a mix of old and young players, a beautiful setting and stars that fall from the sky.
1940s
Meanwhile Ellington teamed up with Billy Strayhorn, who became an indispensable ‘alter ego’ when it came to polishing lyrics and compositions, as well as rehearsing with the band and even playing the piano on recordings. Strayhorn also composed ”Take the ‘A’ Train’, still today the band’s signature tune.
Ellington was a master of composing short melodies; he also continued composing longer pieces, such as ‘Black, Brown, and Beige(1943) which deals with the history of slavery. The link is to a performance by the Klezmer Company Orchestra (2011). This composition received a lukewarm reception. More successful was ‘Jump for Joy'(1941). Here performed by the ‘Newark Academy Jazz Essentially Ellington Orchestra’ (2017)
‘Beggers’s Holiday’(1946) eventually made it to Broadway.
1950s
Once again, big bands struggled to pull together. Count Basie disbanded and continued with a small ensemble. Duke Ellington was initially luckier; he booked a 77-day tour in Europe in which he performed 74 times. Then difficult times also dawned for the Duke Ellington Orchestra. At the Newport Jazz Festival on 7 July 1956, a small miracle happened, which I described in episode 2/11 of this series. Everything had backfired on that day; eventually tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves played a solo, and Ellington let him improvise for six minutes, while the audience turned into a dancing crowd. The recording of this performance would become the best-selling album of Ellington’s career.
1960s
Ellington starts devoting himself to composing film music. The first film was ‘Anatomy of a Murder’ (1959). This was followed by ‘Paris Blues'(1961) in which Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier performed. Here you listen to Paul Newman playing ‘Mood indigo’.
During this period, Ellington also made recordings with musicians he did not have daily contact with, such as Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkings, John Coltrane and also Frank Sinatra. A session with Charles Mingus and Max Roach resulted in the album ‘Money Jungle‘.
He performs all over the world and is recording with several local artists, such as Sweden’s Alice Babs, and South Africa’s Sathima Bea Benjamin.
1970s
Ellington works on his first opera,’ Queenie Pie’, but it remains unfinished. His last performance was in the ballroom at Northern Illinois University on 20 March 1974. He dies of lung cancer on 24 May 1974. At his funeral, Ella Fitzgerald spoke the words “It’d a very sad day. A genius has passed”.
Here the first joint performance with Louis Armstrong after 40 years on the Ed Sullivan Show, ‘In a Mellow Tone'(1961)
Music: Listen, Look and Enjoy 