Duke Ellington essay

Edward Kennedy Ellington was one of the most famous jazz composers and performers of the twentieth century. It is a well-known fact that Duke Ellington went down in history of jazz music as one of the most significant composers, as well as outstanding bandleader, who led his own musical group of about fifty years. Thus, the main aims of this project are to think about Duke Ellington, and discuss how he fits into the history of jazz, dwelling on his style and other details with more attention.

Beginning this discussion with Ellington’s biography, it is important to mention that he was born on April 29, 1899, in Washington. Edward Ellington was born in ordinary family with average income, and the future musician got his first education at home; his mother taught him to play the piano, and it was the beginning of everything for little Duke. It is an interesting fact that Duke is not a real Ellington’s name, but it is only his nickname, which children gave him when he was a little boy for his aristocratic manners and the ability to dress elegant things.

Being a boy, Duke was not as much interested in music as he was interested in painting, but very soon he has changed his decision; perhaps, the lessons that his mother gave him, awakened a love for music in the young man. Ellington was even offered a scholarship to study at Art College, but being taught to play the piano in his early childhood, and picking popular tunes in the style of ragtime aurally, he decided to take up music professionally. It was the right decision, because many years later Ellington said that he had two birthdays – April 29, 1899 and July 7, 1956, and his second birthday was at the Newport Jazz Festival (Collier, 2010).

Duke Ellington, as a professional musician, organized a band and began to appear on stage in the clubs of Washington, and then moved to New York, where he began to appear on stage in the most famous nightclubs (where he very quickly gained fame and recognition). Then he joined the ranks of the young jazz group under the title “Washingtonians”, and soon became its leader. Style, in which Ellington played in those days, was called Jungle, and characterized by original arrangements, and frequent accents.

Exploring Ellington’s biography, it is necessary to mention that the musician played in different styles, including: orchestral jazz, swing, progressive big band, jazz standard, in addition, he wrote music for films and theatrical performances. Ellington’s creative nature forced him to make a kind of laboratory of music from his own group. He was constantly experimenting, also giving other team members the opportunity to show their talents. Perhaps, this was the main reason for many participants of his orchestra to stay with Duke Ellington for a long time (Current, 1974). Constantly giving the tours, Ellington did not forget about the studio, which resulted in an enormous discography. In addition, as it was previously mentioned, the musician wrote a big majority of musical compositions for the theater and television productions.

Let us study in depth the musician’s work in this part of the project. The work to study is Duke Ellington’s “Indigos” (1957). This album is notable for its specific nature, because it is not similar to others. It is a true that the album has no new original songs, but we cannot call it ‘unimaginative’ in Ellington’s discography. Soft sound format provides an excellent opportunity for a great solo, and familiar songs sound completely different. Album is full of slow lyrical songs, and the great attention is paid to the record of the piano solo by Duke Ellington. It also seems that the disk “Indigos” has another definite plus: the album is perfect for first acquaintance with the music of ‘jazz’ which can be beautiful, crystal, with a light, slightly sad smile. The album can be also considered a set of smart, time-tested melodies in popular exposition. If  the composition “Autumn Leaves” with soulful vocals of Ozzie Bailey, or stirring violin of Ray Nance does not take the soul of the listener, perhaps, the listener became too cynical. Tempo never exceeds moderate, and, comparing this album to the dance, it is surely a slow dance, which allows people to feel the deep emotions of own heart and reflect them in thoughts.

Comparing the type of emotions that the persons have listening to the music, we can mention that, for instance, listening to Count Basie’s music people want to dance, while listening to Duke Ellington’s music, many people want to continue listen to it more and more. It is a really intelligent music. Ellington’s arrangements are as much peculiar as musical texture of the song can be original, being not taken from the accepted standard, but being exactly composed by the talented person.

Observing the way Duke Ellington fits into the history of jazz, we can emphasize that he is still considered one of the most important composers in jazz history. He wrote music almost exclusively for his own group, always leaving a place for solo musicians. Moreover, Ellington foreshadowed the development of jazz in the second half of the twentieth century, and can rightly have a claim on the name of one of the most influential figures of this musical direction (Cohen, 2010). For instance, art-rock mastered the idea of a cyclic form exactly through Ellington’s minimalism. So, the world would never have heard “Velvet Underground”, or “Soft Machine” without Ellington’s contribution to jazz. Speaking about jazz, we could mention that Ellington’s “Sacred Concerts” were continued by Dave Brubeck, Heikki Sarmanto and Klaus König. In addition, Duke Ellington composed more than 3,000 songs, while more than hundred of these songs have become jazz classics.

According to the information presented at Duke Ellington’s official website, it becomes obvious that “Duke Ellington influenced millions of people both around the world and at home. He gave American music its own sound for the first time. In his fifty year career, he played over 20,000 performances in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East as well as Asia” (http://www.dukeellington.com/ellingtonbio.html). Finally, the stars of world pop music considered as an honor to play in the orchestra of Duke Ellington, because his music seems to be elegant and real. The personality of Duke Ellington can be compared with the classical composers such as Strauss, Wagner or Bartók in his musical direction. It is hard to argue the fact that Ellington’s compositions sometimes are too complicated for the unprepared listener, but when the person is able to master all the alterations, harmonies, risqué melodic passages, harmonic and rhythmic counterpoints, then he begins to understand why Ellington has entered the annals of world music as a classic of American intellectual jazz.

Thus, we have observed Duke Ellington’s outstanding contribution to the history of jazz music, explaining not only the way he did it, but also analyzing one of his albums for this purpose. As a result, taking everything into consideration, it is possible to conclude that Duke Ellington was a prominent person, who not only composed music, but also made it alive for ages.