An originator of
big-band jazz
, Duke Ellington was an American composer, pianist and bandleader who composed thousands of scores over his 50-year career.
What style of jazz does Duke Ellington play?
An originator of
big-band jazz
, Duke Ellington was an American composer, pianist and bandleader who composed thousands of scores over his 50-year career.
How did Duke Ellington impact jazz?
No one in the history of jazz expressed himself more freely; or with more variety, swing, and sophistication than Duke Ellington did. … A masterful composer of pop melodies, a keen orchestrator, and an endless innovator, Ellington also
saw the potential of the American Orchestra to tackle longer-form compositions
.
What instrument does Duke Ellington play?
Early Career
Born in Washington D.C. in 1899, Edward Kennedy Ellington, better known as “Duke,” began playing
piano
as a child. His mother, who also played the piano, oversaw his education, and by the time he was seventeen he began playing professionally.
Did Duke Ellington have any formal music training?
Around the age of seven, while at
Garnet Elementary School
, Ellington embarked on a formal training in music, but his musical interests had not yet manifested. In 1911, Ellington entered junior high school. He was no longer taking piano lessons, but was now showing an interest in art.
Why is Duke Ellington an important figure in jazz?
Duke Ellington was the greatest jazz composer and bandleader of his time. …
His gift of melody and mastery of sonic textures, rhythms, and compositional forms translated into a body of music unequaled
in jazz history.
How did Count Basie influence jazz?
He was
the arbiter of the big-band swing sound
and his unique style of fusing blues and jazz established swing as a predominant music style. Basie changed the jazz landscape and shaped mid-20th century popular music, duly earning the title “King of Swing” because he made the world want to dance.
What is Classical jazz also called?
Classic jazz is also called what?
New Orleans style jazz
. You just studied 15 terms! 1/15.
What is another name for Dixieland jazz?
Dixieland, sometimes referred to as
traditional jazz
, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century.
What was Duke Ellington’s legacy?
He was noted for
his inventive use of the big band orchestra and for his eloquence and charisma
. His reputation continued to rise after his death and he was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize Special Award for music in 1999.
Who did Duke Ellington marry?
“Music is my mistress,” he wrote, “and she plays second fiddle to no one.” Mr. Ellington married
Edna Thompson
in 1918. Their son, Mercer, was born the following year.
Why is Duke Ellington important today?
Though Duke Ellington is today sat alongside the greatest American composers, he also marked the
history of modern music
with his unforgettable collaborations: with the singer Ella Fitzgerald in 1957, the pianist (and conductor) Count Basie and the trumpeter Louis Armstrongin 1961, the saxophonist John Coltrane in 1962 …
Did Roosevelt watch Duke play baseball?
Ellington’s friends noticed that he acted like a gentleman, and gave him a nickname, “Duke”.” At first, Ellington was more interested in baseball than playing the piano.
He later remembered President Theodore Roosevelt watched him play baseball
.
Who is considered to be the king of swing?
Goodman died in 1986, at the age of 77. When the Swing Era ended, Goodman experimented with bebop and studied classical clarinet, even commissioning new work from Bela Bartok and Aaron Copland. But
Benny Goodman
will always be best remembered as “The King of Swing.”
Who is Bessie Smith jazz?
Bessie Smith was
one of the greatest blues vocalists ever
. She made 160 recordings in all, in many of which she was accompanied by some of the great jazz musicians of the 1920s and ’30s, including Fletcher Henderson, Benny Goodman, and Louis Armstrong.
Who did Duke Ellington work with?
At the end of the 1930s, Ellington began a nearly thirty-year collaboration with composer-arranger-
pianist Billy Strayhorn
, whom he called his writing and arranging companion. With Strayhorn, he composed multiple extended compositions, or suites, as well as many short pieces.
