User talk:MackenzieW543

Duke Ellignton:   Edward Kennedy Ellington was born in Washington, D.C. in 1899. His parents, Daisy and James Ellington both played piano. His father was a butler and, according to Ellington, "raised his family as though he were a millionaire." The District of Columbia of that period was recognized as the hub of African American culture, and the Ellington home was usually filled with an assortment of relatives. As a 14-year-old "soda jerk," Ellington acquired the title "Duke" as an indication of his aristocratic carriage and immaculate attire. His local prominence as a musician began about the same time, when he substituted for the drunken piano player in the soda shop where he was employed. Subsequently, he became a neighborhood celebrity as both a musician and leader of his own band. It was while sitting in for the errant piano player that he wrote his first composition which was appropriately titled, "Soda Fountain Rag."

New York City's Harlem began to replace D.C. as the mecca of black culture (this was the period of the great Harlem Renaissance) and Ellington was eager to face the challenge of the so-called big time. In 1923, he and a small coterie of his musical peers from D.C., took on Harlem. Included was guitarist Elmer Snowden who is credited with influencing Duke's conceptual development.

In late 1923, the group began to call itself the Washingtonians and eventually landed a gig at Manhattan's Hollywood Club. Despite considerable troubles, the band continued to earn its spurs in the Big Apple. After four years, a major break came when the group was booked into Harlem's Cotton Club, one of the most famous venues of the jazz universe at the time. In 1927, the Duke Ellington Band began what turned out to be its most lucrative assignment. The club was located in Harlem but was owned by white gangsters who banned attendance by African Americans except as entertainers. It provided an ideal setting for Duke's sophistication and classy mien.

In many ways the Cotton Club gig was the catalyst for the evolution of the genius Ellington was to become. It was during this period that Duke began to assemble the combination of proficient and talented musicians who made up his perpetually memorable aggregations.

In reply to a question about the Cotton Club in an interview, Duke averred, "...The Cotton Club was a classy spot...Impeccable behavior was demanded. Sunday night was THE night...All the big stars in town--no matter where they were playing--showed at the Cotton Club to take a bow." The club was also noted for its glamorous revues which featured beautiful and stately showgirls, an exciting chorus line and Duke's elegant 10-piece band.

The national radio exposure and the entertainment reputation of the venue hastened Duke Ellington's ascension to stardom. It was also during that Cotton Club stint that he began to emerge as a gifted arranger/composer. Duke continued to augment his orchestra with some of the most talented musicians of the period, and his penchant of writing for individual band members greatly enhanced the unique style and easily recognizable arrangement of his band. This practice led critics to describe Ellington as "a pianist whose instrument was his orchestra."

Among the stars who formed the vortex of some of his memorable compositions were the late trumpeter Bubber Miley, alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges and Cootie Williams.

As early as 1933, Ellington and his band toured Europe where they played the London Palladium. This was only the beginning of an illustrious career that spanned five decades and continued until his death in 1974. Over the 50-year reign of the Duke Ellington Band, an estimated 800 musicians were utilized. He is credited with more than 1,500 compositions including extended works, opera, popular songs and sacred concerts.

In 1943 Duke initiated a series of annual concerts at Carnegie Hall with the introduction of "Black, Brown and Beige." It was presented as a tone poem delineating the plight of African Americans from the time of slavery through their, then, current presence in this country. The work received mixed reviews from the majority of critics. Much of the negative criticism, however, must be attributed to the difficulty or inability, of many critics of European extraction to relate to and evaluate the black experience. However, the Ellington music of the late '30's and '40's was sufficiently ahead of that being regularly offered to confound not only critics, but many fans of the era.

Although Duke's music was distinctly out of the jazz tradition, he challenged limits and transcended standard categories. In retrospect, this genius never classified his music as jazz--he vehemently termed it folk music.

In addition to his specialties for various band members, Ellington wrote for an assortment of idioms: music scores, opera, and extended works for concert performances. Further, he was deeply religious as indicated by his affinity for sacred music concerts. In 1965 he was asked to participate in the celebration of the new Episcopalian Cathedral atop Knob Hill in San Francisco. In his autobiography, MUSIC IS MY MISTRESS, he said, "This was an exceptional opportunity. Now I [can] say openly what I have been saying to myself on my knees,...Every time God's children have thrown away fear in pursuit of honesty,...trying to communicate themselves, understood or not, miracles have happened."

Of Billy Strayhorn, whom he met in 1939 and who became his most trusted friend and musical collaborator, Ellington confided, "Our rapport was the closest. ...When I was writing my first sacred concert, I was in California and he was in a New York hospital. On the telephone I told him about the concert [under preparation] and that I'd like him to write something,...[an] introduction, ending, quick transitions. ...I said the title [is to be] the first four words of the Bible: `In the Beginning, God. ...' He had not heard my theme, but what he sent me started on the same note as mine and ended on the same note as mine. ...Out of six notes representing the six syllables of the four words, only two notes were different [from mine]."

In the exhibition created by John Edward Hasse for the Smithsonian Institution, Ellington is presented and unequivocally confirmed as the preeminent American music master. At the conclusion of its extended premiere viewing at the Museum of the City of New York, it is scheduled to travel the major cities of the nation for propitious engagements. The ambitious tour is scheduled to terminate September 15, 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia as part of the Olympic celebration