Here we are in our third week of composers! This week, we are moving genres from classical to jazz. Jazz is a tough genre for me. Whenever I hear jazz live, I am physically engaged. I’m leaning forward in my seat and sometimes even tapping my foot to the beat. It’s so much fun when the hall fills with jazz’s fun, rhythmically-diverse music. I especially love to hear the amazing improvisational solos. However, whenever I try to listen to it while doing homework or walking around campus, it doesn’t have quite the same effect on me. I believe that jazz is something to be a part of rather than to observe from a distance, but regardless, let’s just jump right into jazz! Today, we are learning about one of the best jazz composers of all time, Duke Ellington! With 11 Grammy wins and international recognition and acclaim, Duke Ellington has left his musical mark on history and changed the world with his amazing jazz compositions.

On April 29, 1899, in a middle-class neighborhood of Washington D.C., Edward Kennedy Ellington was born to two musically-inclined parents. His mother Daisy Kennedy was a pianist and wanted to instill her passion for music in her son. At age 7, Daisy started sending him to piano lessons. She also wanted her son to learn manners and proper conduct from a young age, so she dressed him up nicely and taught him grace and integrity. The neighborhood boys took notice of this and gave him his lifelong nickname “Duke”. Ellington didn’t enjoy playing piano from the start. In his memoir, Music is My Mistress, he describes skipping many lessons, but after he began sneaking into poolrooms and listening to the pianists there, Ellington found his appreciation for music and started to enjoy his piano lessons. Inspired to keep improving by those pianists, Ellington wrote his first composition by the age of 15. This first composition, “Soda Fountain Rag,” was inspired by his job as a “soda jerk” at the time. A “soda jerk” was the name for the person operating the soda fountain machine in a drugstore or ice cream parlor.

Throughout his teen years, Ellington became obsessed with ragtime music. He would mimic the poolroom pianists and try to amplify their style. Eventually, Ellington starting playing gigs around D.C., and in 1916, he turned down an art scholarship to the Pratt Institute in order to continue playing professionally. For the first several years, Ellington participated in bands and moved around, playing gigs up and down the East Coast from D.C. to Harlem. His career finally took off in October of 1926 when Ellington met with agent-publisher Irving Mills. They made an agreement together that allowed Ellington and his band (called the Kentucky Club Orchestra at the time) to record numerous hits, which launched his popularity and gave him the means to climb higher. By September of 1927, Ellington signed a deal with Harlem’s famous Cotton Club. Especially with its weekly radio broadcasts, Ellington and his band gained fame and recognition.

In a career lasting over half a century, Duke Ellington went on to create several bands, win numerous awards, tour Europe twice, and define the genres of jazz and big band music. Ellington died on May 24th, 1974 from complications with lung cancer and pneumonia. 12,000 spectators attended his funeral at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The great number of spectators coming to pay their respects speaks to his influence and significance.

As for Duke Ellington’s songs, there are thousands of compositions worth mentioning. One of his most famous pieces was Take the A Train. It perfects that classical jazzy sound. The focus on the trumpet soloist and the use of the mute created an entertaining and fun composition. Another famous piece by Ellington and one of my favorites of his was Satin Doll. The careful repetition of the saxophone melody combined with the crisp and bright piano in the background create an elegant and graceful sound. Towards the middle of the piece, Ellington takes control with a beautiful and simple piano solo with light bass and drums in the background. The piece embodies the sophisticated and chic sound of the 1960s. Out of all of his pieces, I feel that the most recognizable would be It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing). This piece has an upbeat tempo but combines this with a darker and deeper sound. In many versions of this song, including the version in the link, Ivie Anderson provides the vocals. A very famous female singer of the time, Anderson sang many of the band’s hit pieces. The amazing Ella Fitzgerald also sang versions of this song and others of his. With the fun and energizing vocal “shoo bop do bops” the piece really springs to life. A few of his other famous compositions include Prelude to a Kiss, Sophisticated Lady, Mood Indigo (his first recording to be inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1975), and Caravan, which he co-wrote with Juan Tizol, the band’s trombone player. Some of you may remember Caravan from Whiplash, which I talked about in a post on my blog last semester. Tizol also went on to compose Perdido for the band. These two songs added a unique and exotic Spanish sound that really grabbed the listener.

Thanks for reading this post. So after hearing a bit about Duke Ellington… Do you like jazz? Well, I sure hope that you do because get ready for more jazz next week where we will learn about a famous modern jazz composer who was greatly influenced by Duke Ellington. See you next week on Compositions on Composers!

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