Duke of ellington biography

Pianist, bandleader, composer

At a Glance…

A Late Bloomer

Formed His Own Band

“Blew the Joint Away” at Newport

The 1960s: Musician, Historian, Lecturer

Selected compositions

Selected discography

Sources

Duke Ellington was a distinctive and pivotal figure in the world of jazz.

While many critics agree that his flair for style far exceeded his raw musical talent, few dispute the significance of his impact on the music scene in the United States and abroad. A prolific composer, Ellington created over two thousand pieces of music, including the standard songs “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” and “Sophisticated Lady” and longer works like Black, Brown, and Beige and The Liberian Suite. With the variously named bands he led for more than fifty years, Ellington was responsible for many innovations in the jazz field, such as the introduction of “jungle-style&#