He had style
He acquired the nickname “Duke” from childhood friends who were impressed with his elegant dress and graceful manner.
He was creative
In the summer of 1914, at age 15, Ellington wrote his first composition, Poodle Dog Rag, while working as a soda jerk at the Poodle Dog Café.
Learner will listen to audio example here
| How would you play Duke's music? > Try the Experiment |
For nine years Ellington worked to establish himself as a successful ragtime, jazz, and society pianist and band leader in Washington, D.C.
He took risks
When he was 21 he moved to New York in 1923 with fellow musicians Sonny Greer and Otto Hardwick and began playing as the Washingtonians at the Hollywood Club in Manhattan.
He took chances
Ellington launched the Duke Ellington Orchestra as the house band for the Cotton Club (the preeminent Harlem speakeasy) in 1927.
He experimented with music
Experimenting with ternary forms, “call and response” techniques, and classic symphonic devices, Ellington was able to achieve mood and nuance in his arrangements. He was sensitive to the variations in tone of his different soloists (Johnny Hodges, Bubber Miley, Joe 'Tricky Sam' Nanton, Barney Bigard, Ben Webster, Harry Carney, Sonny Greer, Otto Hardwicke, and Wellman Braud), and used his knowledge of their characteristic sounds to blend individual and ensemble contribution, These arrangements featured tonal experiments such as trumpet screams, wah-wahs, and growling saxophones,
Learner will listen to audio example here of trumpet screams, wah-wahs, and growling saxophones
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