Arts and Music Atlas

Works, Makers, Traditions
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme

Switch Atlas

Artist

Duke Ellington

Performing Musicians and Vocalists

Duke Ellington was an American jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader who led his own orchestra for roughly fifty years and is widely regarded as one of the most significant composers in American musical history. He treated the orchestra itself as his primary instrument, writing extended, harmonically sophisticated works such as Mood Indigo, Sophisticated Lady, and the multi-part suite Black, Brown and Beige for the specific voices of his longtime musicians. Beginning at Harlem's Cotton Club in the late 1920s, he helped move jazz from popular dance music toward a concert art form, and his catalogue of roughly one thousand compositions spans big-band swing, sacred concerts, and film scores.

Facts
Birth Year
1899 1
Death Year
1974 1
Nationality
American 1
Birth Date
1899-04-29 1
Death Date
1974-05-24 1
Birthplace
Washington, D.C., U.S. 1
Death Place
New York City, U.S. 1
Active From Year
1914 1
Active To Year
1974 1
Training
Began piano lessons with Marietta Clinkscales at age seven; later trained under Washington bandleader Oliver "Doc" Perry 1
Classification
Gender
Male 1
Connections

In Movement

Jazz, Movements

Foundational jazz bandleader and composer.

Practices

Music, Art Forms
Source Duke Ellington (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases

Nationality

United States

Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.

Source Duke Ellington (Wikipedia)Lead sentence 1tier 2
Quote, Lead sentence 1
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life.

Originated In

United States

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.

Sources
1. Duke Ellington (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Lead paragraph 1
    was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life.
  • Lead section
    Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 - May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life.
  • Lead paragraph 2
    Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based in New York City from the mid-1920s
  • Death section
    Ellington died on May 24, 1974, of complications from lung cancer and pneumonia, aged 75.
  • Legacy section: interment
    He was interred in the Woodlawn Cemetery, the Bronx, New York City.
  • Article text
    With the additional guidance of Washington pianist and bandleader Oliver "Doc" Perry, Ellington learned to read sheet music, project a professional style, and improve his technique.
  • Early life and education section (1914 Soda Fountain Rag)
    In the summer of 1914, while working as a soda jerk at the Poodle Dog Café, Ellington wrote his first composition
  • Practices: Music, lead paragraph
    Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899, May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Music critic Ralph J. Gleason called him "A
  • In Group: Jazz Musicians and Vocalists, Lead
    Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899, May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life.
View the Source
Wikidata: Duke Ellington
Wikidata Q4030, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.