Q:Facts: - instrument: piano - death place: new york city , new york , united states - years active: 1914 -- 1974 - caption: ellington c. 1940s - birth name: edward kennedy ellington - height: 6 ' 1 '' - death date: 24 may 1974 - genre: orchestral jazz , swing , big band - birth date: 29 april 1899 - name: duke ellington - background: non_vocal_instrumentalist - image: duke ellington - publicity.jpg - birth place: washington , d.c. , united states - occupation: bandleader , pianist , composer Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of duke ellington .
A:
edward kennedy '' duke '' ellington -lrb- april 29 , 1899 -- may 24 , 1974 -rrb- was an american composer , pianist and bandleader of jazz orchestras .he led his orchestra from 1923 until his death , his career spanning over 50 years .born in washington , d.c. , ellington was based in new york city from the mid-1920s onward , and gained a national profile through his orchestra 's appearances at the cotton club in harlem .in the 1930s , his orchestra toured in europe .though widely considered to have been a pivotal figure in the history of jazz , ellington embraced the phrase '' beyond category '' as a '' liberating principle '' , and referred to his music as part of the more general category of '' american music '' , rather than to a musical genre such as '' jazz '' .some of the musicians who were members of ellington 's orchestra , such as saxophonist johnny hodges , are considered to be among the best players in jazz .ellington melded them into the best-known orchestral unit in the history of jazz .some members stayed with the orchestra for several decades .a master at writing miniatures for the three-minute 78 rpm recording format , ellington often composed specifically to feature the style and skills of his individual musicians , such as '' jeep 's blues '' for hodges , and '' concerto for cootie '' for trumpeter cootie williams , which later became '' do nothing till you hear from me '' with bob russell 's lyrics .often collaborating with others , ellington wrote more than one thousand compositions ; his extensive body of work is the largest recorded personal jazz legacy , with many of his extant works having become standards .ellington also recorded songs written by his bandsmen , for example juan tizol 's '' caravan '' , and '' perdido '' , which brought a spanish tinge to big-band jazz .after 1941 , ellington collaborated with composer-arranger-pianist billy strayhorn , whom he called his '' writing and arranging companion '' .with strayhorn , he composed many extended compositions , or ''...