Duke Ellington and His Contribution to the History of Music

Duke Ellington, otherwise known by the name of birth as Edward Kennedy Ellington was an American known for his composition, piano skills and as a leader of jazz orchestra band, a band he led for more than fifty years (Teachout, 2013). Duke was the most important composer in jazz history throughout the 50 years he led the band. In his career, there existed two related aspects. First, his band acted as a musical laboratory which he used for compositions and shaping his talents. He was also involved in the writing of film scores and stage musicals.

Duke Ellingtons Life

Duke Ellington was born on April 12, 1899, Washington, D.C. His father, Edward Ellington was a White House butler, so he was brought up in a quite descent surrounding. He started learning piano when he was seven years old, and by the time he reached his teens, he was a music writer (Teachout, 2013). His love for music culminated in him dropping out of school in 1917 in his junior year where he opted to pursue a music career. Initially, he enrolled in bands in Washington D.C. where he carried out his performances. In September, the year 1923, Ellington together with his band, the Washingtonians relocated to New York on a permanent basis. In New York, they found residence at the Kentucky Club, formerly known as The Hollywood Club Ellington lived in New York City years after 1920 onwards where he obtained a national profile via his orchestra appearance at the Cotton Club, Harlem. Ellington and the Washingtonians produced their initial recording in November 1924. Major advancements in the group were evidenced when Ellington became the leader of the group. Now as the bandleader, Ellington moved with his group uptown to the Cotton Club situated in Harlem around 4th December 1927, a place where Ellington developed into a nationally renowned musician (Teachout, 2013).

Ellington gained enormous fame around the 1940s when he produced several masterworks among them being Concerto for Cootie. Ellington's fame arose quickly from his sense of musical drama. Between 1959 and 2000, Ellington won 12 Grammy Awards, three after his death.

Ellington married Edna Thompson, his high school sweetheart at the age of 19 years. Ellington and his sweetheart gave birth to a boy, Mercer Kennedy Ellington.

Duke Ellington succumbed to lung cancer and pneumonia at the age of 75 on May 24, 1974. His burial took place in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronze in New York City.

Duke Ellingtons style

Duke was the composer of jazz. From his childhood days, he developed a love for live bands; his mother would dress him up for the local dances and sit him besides musicians on stage. As a child, he had been taught classical piano, so he was quite familiar with the piano. As he grew up, for instance during his teens, he was coming up with a style that brought together ragtime, boogie-woogie, and stride. He quickly got a pianist job and performed at parties and dances (Gutman, 2014).

Just like most dance band musicians of Ellingtons era, Duke Ellington found out that the emerging vibrant jazz sounds from New Orleans could represent greater ideas. At this point, he brought in a bluesy, a trumpeter, a soprano sax genius, saxophonist, clarinetist, a student of Bechet sax and a trombonist.

Concerto for Cootie

Concerto for Cootie is a work by Ellington Orchestra recorded on March 15, 1940. It was a dedication for a player of the trumpet by the name Cootie Williams. Later on, lyrics for the instrumental piece was recorded by Bob Russel. The vocal version was produced by Duke Ellington with Al Hibbler featuring as a singer. It emerged as a number hit R&B chart for eight good weeks. On the pop chart, it took position six.

What makes Concerto Cootie a masterpiece is its purity; it does not have the slightest touch of softness. Just to add, the soloist and the arranger in it have resisted any temptation of achieving the easier effect. When you look into its music content, it is filled with richness such that no room is left for listener monotony. Another reason why this work is a masterpiece is in how its game is played, it is played for all it is worth, and not a single thing is held back. The work is a masterpiece because when you listen to what the orchestra says, you realize it compliments what is said by the soloist- the composition is so united that not a single thing is out of place.

Concerto for Cootie is not a conventional arrangement and should never be considered as such. The structures in it that are rather uncommon, refinement in its composition, and how it has been kept in its original qualifies it as an original composition.

Duke Ellingtons Contribution to the History of Music

Celebrations conducted in 1999 in honor of Duke Ellington shown he continued to be recognized as the major jazz composer. Ellington work of writing was done primarily for his band. This allowed his players an opening to solo with the compositions when produced a working body that enabled jazz's entry into academic and institutional realms.

References

Gutman, B. (2014). Duke: The Musical Life of Duke Ellington. Open Road Media.

Teachout, T. (2013). Duke: a life of Duke Ellington. Avery.