Duke Ellington's Life and Lasting Effect

Duke Ellington's Life and Lasting Effect

By Sara Scharffenberger



 

 

Edward Kennedy Ellington, or as he would later be known as "Duke" Ellington, was born on April 29, 1899 in Washington D.C. Ellington grew up in area of Washington that "...was the most prosperous of the African American neighborhoods in a city with around 30 per cent of its population black" (Bradbury 1). Ellington was fortunate that he grew up where he did because the successfulness of those around him later influenced him. Ellington was also fortunate to have had caring and supportive parents. Both of these things greatly influenced who he was as a person.

 As a young child Ellington was not at all interested in music, but instead he was more interested in the arts. Consequently, Duke went to Armstrong Manuel Training High School, which advocated teaching industrial, craft, and domestic skills and intended on becoming a commercial artist after graduation. The pivotal moment that changed his career towards music was when he heard a great ragtime player Harvey Brooks play. After he heard him, Ellington had a great desire to learn how to play the piano (Slovey 186)

 As Ellington started to grow as an artist, he was greatly influenced by many great artists of the time. The major artist that influenced him most was Oliver "Doc" Perry. Perry taught Ellington the fundamentals of playing the piano and had such a great influence on him that Ellington called him his "piano parent” (Slovey 187). As Ellington continued to grow up he formed his first band, Duke's Serenaders. The three that made up this band, bass player Otto Hardwick, saxophone player Arthur Whetsol, and Duke himself, would form the foundation of Ellington’s later band, the Duke Ellington Orchestra (Slovey 187). This first band grew in popularity and they started to play for more important events and even played for white patrons.

Although Ellington’s career was doing well in Washington, he decided to move to New York, which happened to be where many of the most talented musicians were gathering to become famous. Ellington’s band, now under the name of Duke Ellington’s Orchestra, made a name for themselves. "...Ellington's orchestra became famous for its distinctive "jungle" sound, which featured the use of mutes (a kind of plug placed in a horn instrument to alter its sound) and growls (a sound imitating an animal's growl or roar) in keeping with the Cotton Club's wild, "primitive" atmosphere" (Slovey 189). The band even started recording some of their music and by the end of 1927 they had recorded more than 60 records. Eventually, the band became so popular that they started to play in the biggest venue in Harlem, The Cotton Club (Frankl).

 Ellington and the rest of the ten members of the band created something that is known as the “big band” sound during their time spent at The Cotton Club, which means that there are multiply players for each instrument. This type of band featured trumpet, saxophone, clarinet, bass, guitar, drums, and the piano (Slovey 188-189). Playing at the Cotton Club helped the band grow and a lot of the band’s most famous songs came from this time period.

Duke Ellington’s contributions to music were great and are unmatched by any other artist to this day. Many people believe that he was the key figure in the development of jazz (Slovey 191). Although his career started and was surrounded with much acclaim in the 1920s, his career continued to grow and change up until the 70s when he died in May of 1974. He received many awards for his great accomplishments one of them including the Pulitzer Prize, which was given to him after his death in 1999 for his great brilliance (Bradbury).

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Ellington, Edward Kennedy 'Duke'." Harlem Renaissance. Ed. Christine Slovey and Kelly King Howes. Vol. 1. Detroit: UXL, 2001. 185-193. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 20 Nov. 2012.

Bradbury, David. Duke Ellington. London, 2005. Print.

Frankl, Ron. Duke Ellington. New York, 1988. Print.