Duke Ellington's Impact On His Music

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Duke Ellington was a popular jazz musician of the 1920s and beyond his music impacted how future musicians will play. He wrote 2000 to 3000 songs in his career and published over 200 albums. Ellington played the piano, alto and tenor saxophone along with being a bandleader. Duke Ellington became such a famous jazz player because his music was diverse, he toured the world with “The Washingtonians” and he won multiple awards that helped him spread his name across the globe.
Duke Ellington’s journey to fame started at the age of 15 when he wrote his first song. Writing songs helped him create his first real band, “The Washingtonians”, and his first real performances. Ellington did not always come up with his music all by himself, he often used …show more content…

Duke Ellington one fourteen Grammys, a Medal of Freedom, a French Legion of Honor and has a Commemorative stamp with his picture on it. Some of the Grammys were awarded for Best original Jazz composition, best instrumental jazz performance, Best Jazz Performance by a Big Band and many more. In addition to multiple Grammys, he won a Presidential Medal of Freedom which is a tremendous achievement for any American citizen. “The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the Nation’s highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.” (Medal of Freedom) The French Legion of Honor is very similar to the Medal of Freedom, it is awarded in France mostly for military excellence, but is not awarded to just veterans. Finally, Duke Ellington’s Commemorative stamp was given to honor Ellington for his work in jazz. He won many awards that helped spread his popularity across the country.
By winning over 15 awards, performing at many clubs, and having such diversity in his music, Ellington became one of the most famous jazz players in the country. I think that Duke Ellington is one of the greatest influences on jazz, and without listening to his music, I may have never had such a passion for jazz as I do now. Ellington helped prove to me how important music is to some people’s lives, including himself, and without music, some people would not have a way to express

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