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Biographical essay on duke ellington
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Duke Ellington
One of the most influential men of the 20th century, Edward Kennedy Ellington, better known as Duke Ellington was an American jazz composer, bandleader, and pianist. He brought a revolution to the American music, especially to jazz music, by his distinctive ensemble sounds. During his span of 50 years of career, he was one of the originators of big-band jazz and wrote thousands of scores; a major contribution to jazz music. (britannica.com)
Early life
Born on 29th April 1899, Duke Ellington was raised by two middle-class musical parents, James Edward and Daisy Edwards, in the neighborhood of Washington D.C. He had a strong connection with music from the early age. He started learning piano at the age of 7. As early as 15, he
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Within few years, the band became popular and he moved to New York further pursuing his musical career. There he renamed the band as “The Washingtonians”. During that time, Jazz was a new musical style, having complex and improvisational …show more content…
During the 1920s, he performed in Broadway nightclubs as the bandleader of a sextet. He looked for musicians with unique playing styles and wrote music in a way that it fits each musician’s styles. Like Bubber Miley’s “wa-wa” sound from his plunger and Joe Nanton’s famous trombone “growl.” Later his band members included famous jazz artists, trumpeter Cootie Williams, trombonists Lawrence Brown, cornetist Rex Stewart, clarinetist Barney Bigard, Saxophonist Harry Carney, and alto. Saxophonist Johnny Hodges. With such talented and incredible members by his side, he composed hundreds of recording and toured Europe twice in 1933 and 1939.
However, his musical fame reached its peak during the 1940s with his several masterworks such as “Concerto for Cootie,” “Cotton Tail,” “Ko-Ko,” “Main Stem,” and “Harlem Air Shaft.” While some of his most popular songs written by him were “Sophisticated Lady,” “Rocks in My Bed,” “Satin Doll,” “Don’t Get Around Much Any More,” “Prelude to a Kiss,” “Solitude,” and “I Let a Song Go out of My Heart.” (britannica.com)
Duke’s Legacy and his
The music of jazz became an important aspect of American culture in the early 20th century. The crisp syncopation of ragtime and the smooth tunes of the blues seeped into American mainstream music through dance halls and saloons and later through ballrooms. Instruments like the piano, trumpet, trombone and clarinet became important and symbolized the “swing-feel” of jazz because of their capability to syncopate and improvise precisely. With the help of the booming recording industry, musical geniuses were discovered and their talent and contributions to the emergence of jazz spread throughout the entire country. Such musicians include composer, arranger and pianist Jelly Roll Morton who heavily influenced the development of early jazz by his unique piano style, his “invention” of musical notation for jazz, and his compositions that have become the core in the jazz repertory. Because the style was new and different and so successful in drawing in large audiences, musicians around the world tried to mimic it. Furthermore, Morton’s masterpieces were the first to show notation for complicated jazz music and thus, formed the basis for standard notation in jazz compositions today.
When Ellington was seven years old, he took piano lessons. Ellington was a kind- hearted person growing up. Ellington childhood friends noticed that his casual, offhand manner and his stylish clothing gave him a nice looks. He earned his nick name “Duke” because of his gentleman ways. Ellington went to Armstrong Technical High School in Washington, D.C. In 1914, Ellington wrote his first composition, “Soda Fountain Rag”. When he wrote that composition he worked as a soda jerk at the Poodle Dog Café. When he created that composition piece he didn’t really learned how to read and write music around that time.
As his career developed and for many years following his death, Scott Joplin earned the title “King of Ragtime Writers’. Alfred Ernst, conductor of the St. Louis Choral Symphony Society, described Joplin as “an extraordinary genius.” He played an essential role in the development of ragtime music. His work also laid the groundwork for jazz, another distinctly American musical form. Joplin gave the world a unique form of music and he opened the door for other black musicians and artists to succeed in a racially segregated
This piece was not written by Ellington, but by American composer Billy Strayhorn, who became Ellington’s musical collaborator. This piece is very jumpy and light, making you feel like tapping your feet and following the beat. In the background is a piano in stride style that accompanies the brass instruments. Ellington often wrote evocative music, such as "Caravan" (1936), which he intended as a portrait of an exotic locale. The piece is a cross between Latin jazz and music that is Aladdin-like.
First, he redefined the rhythmic conception of jazz by getting rid of the stiff nature of ragtime, creating a swing eight-note pattern, introducing syncopated rhythmic figures, and staggering the phrases to make it seem as if he was always playing behind the beat. Second, he began to have more control over the forms of solos. He focused on allowing them to flow in a more relaxed manner, while suggesting that they have a sense of drama and build tension. Third, he possessed an imagination for melody and embellished it so that other melodies could match specific chord progressions. “West End Blues,” recorded by Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five, is a composition that powerfully brings all of these contributions together with the different solos and overall character of the piece (Harker, 2005, p. 76). All of these contributions helped make jazz what it is today, and we have Louis Armstrong to thank for that.
Edward Kennedy Ellington was born on April 29, 1899, in Washington, D. C. to his parents James and Daisy Ellington. They lived with his maternal grandmother in the West End neighborhood of Washington, D. C., and at age seven years old Ellington began taking piano lessons. Daisy surrounded her son with dignified women to reinforce his manners, and teach him to live elegantly. Even though Ellington took piano lessons he was more interested in Baseball. Ellington went to Armstrong Technical High School, in Washington, D. C., and In the summer of 1914 while working at soda jerks, at the Poodle Dog Cafe, he wrote his first composition” Soda Fountain Rag”. He created the song by ear, because he hadn’t learned how to read and write music. At
A single artist can have a very strong impact on a whole genre of Music. We have seen this time and time again through artists such as Charlie Parker, David Brubeck, John Coltrane, Art Blakey, Miles Davis, and various others. All of these artists had tremendous influences on the different eras that evolved throughout the history of Jazz. Bill Evans, and American jazz pianist, was no different. Just as Charlie Parker had started the evolution of Bebop and influenced the subsequent generations of Jazz Artists, Bill Evans has influenced Modern Jazz and the generations of artists that followed him. Throughout his career and his works with various other artists, Bill Evans has cemented himself as one of the great influences on modern day Jazz.
In the early 1900’s African American musicians from various European cultures created a new style of music, known as Jazz. New Orleans is known as the birth place of Jazz with the French and Spanish migrants shaping early New Orleans’ culture. Settlers from other European countries including Italy, England and Germany combined Blues, Ragtime and Big Band Music to create what we now call Jazz.
I decided to do my research paper on Duke Ellington who was a famous jazz composer, and pianist. Ellington gained national fame in the mid-1920s, through his appearances at the Cotton Club with his orchestra. Ellington is considered one of the most famous jazz composers of his time.
Musicians during the Harlem Renaissance created a style and movement that simply took Americans by storm. Musicians such as Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong have inspired others all over the country. The Renaissance itself was not only an observation of life for African Americans, but it also showed Americans that they have a place in society. All of the musicians, writers, and artists shared a common purpose. This purpose was to create art that reflected the Afro American community. Through this era, African Americans provided themselves with their cultural roots and a promise for a better future. Music in this era was the beginning. It was the beginning of new life for musicians and African Americans.
The 1920’s were a time of excitement, fun, experiments, and the rise in African American talent. Duke Ellington took part in this time to boost his career and have fun. Duke Ellington is a songwriter and performer in many great songs throughout the 1900’s. “The Jubilee Stomp”, written by Duke Ellington, reflects the fun and exciting times of the 1920’s, but it also shows us the rise of African-Americans and the Harlem Renaissance.
Bill Evans was an impressionist piano player, influenced by his earlier age of classical music. He learned piano when he was a child and also attended Southeastern Louisiana University majoring in music (Pettinger 14). His educational background on classical music allowed him to improvised and explored the depth of jazz. As Leonard Feather's Encyclopedia of Jazz suggested, "The most personal characteristics of his work were his uniquely delicate articulation, his oblique harmonic approaches and manner of voicing chords, his occasional use of the left hand in rhythmic duplication of the right-hand line, and the ability to create a warm, beautiful mood within the framework of a popular song, a jazz standard or an original work". According to Professor Harrison’s lectur...
American jazz legend Duke Ellington said, “A problem is a chance for you to do your best.” The meaning of this statement is to tell you that you can always fix your problems. I agree with this statement because I had a problem with riding my bike, but I worked hard at it and eventually I learned how to ride my bike.
Before I take this class, the jazz music is familiar as well as unfamiliar to me. I am pretty sure that I heard jazz performance at many times, but I cannot tell what jazz is. And there was a time when I thought jazz music was belong to the upper class, however I understand the jazz music is regardless of class and race, so much even it more tends to lower middle class. In the early of 19th century, the New Orleans was owned by the French, and due to the lax management, lots of African-Americans got away from slaveholder from America’s south. They got married with French under the “mixed marriages”, therefore there were huge amount of mixed-race know as Creoles. The Creoles had the same rights with white people, they got
Have you ever turned on the radio and heard a Saxophone or trumpet just playing it out in a smooth yet kind of disconnected type of way? Well If that's the case then who ever was in the car last turned it to a jazz radio, well obviously. But Jazz music is a soothing type of music it really gets to the soul and speaks to you in a way no other music does. But as it shows Jazz music has changed throughout history. History has changed Jazz Music throughout the years. Jazz Music Originally started in Louisiana, Jazz Music can be heard and played from different ethnicities. And finally, Jazz would mainly consist of Saxophones and Trumpets.