DUKE ELLINGTON
Genres: Big Band, Swing, Third Stream, Jazz Related Soundtracks, Progressive Big Band, Jazz Related Gospel, Hard Bop • United States

Duke Ellington (Edward Kennedy Ellington, Washington, D.C., 29 April, 1899 - New York City, 24 May, 1974), was an American jazz composer, pianist, and bandleader. Through the ranks of Duke Ellington's Orchestra passed some of the biggest names in jazz, including Johnny Hodges, Cootie Williams, Bubber Miley, Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton, Barney Bigard, Ben Webster, Harry Carney, Sonny Greer, Otto Hardwick, Clark Terry, Jimmy Blanton, Ray Nance, Paul Gonsalves, and Wellman Braud. Many musicians stayed with him for decades. And while all of them were remarkable in their own right, and they all would have probably made it into the annals of jazz history no matter who they played for, it was Ellington's genius as a composer, pianist, bandleader, celebrity personality, and, most importantly, arranger, that made them the most incredible orchestral unit in the history of jazz. His ability to write and arrange for personalities, rather than instruments, made read more...