duke ellington
Duke Ellington was one of the most influential jazz musicians ever. In a time when musicwas going through a transformation from a ragtime style to a jazz-blues mix, Duke wasthere to add his own style. He was a composer, conductor, and pianist who revolutionizedthe way music was written and earned the title of being the "great American composer." Duke Ellington was born in Washington, D.C. in 1899. At the age of 17 he beganto play professionally. Due to his love of music, Duke dropped out of high school topursue his career as a musician in New York. He arrived in New York in 1923, whereEllington found that his plans were ruined as the job which awaited him was no longeravailable. Next, Duke just happened to run into an old friend, Ada Smith, who help Duke'sband get a job in the club she worked at. The big city, in the 1920's, was not as glamorous as most people thought it was.Working in the club, Duke Ellington found himself around shady characters and gun totinggangsters. Duke's workplace was a hazard in itself. Duke was constantly dodging thrownbottles from drunks and bullets on a regular basis. Instead, Duke did not allow any ofthese things to get in the way of his career or cre
Through his musical talent, Duke Ellington was able to close the gap between the whiteupper-class and the black lower-class. I also have learned that you might have to sacrife somethings, just ad Duke did, tosucceed in life. With the help of Fletcher Henderson, afellow band leader, Duke was able to focus less on the dancing areas of jazz, but more onthe musical side. Duke Ellington did not create his music to make money, but to simplyplease his audience. This led to a greater quality of jazz. Unlike many of the band leaders of his time, Duke Ellington chose to allow hisband members to play however they felt was right for them. (Brown, 39-45) On the musical side of Duke Ellington's achievements would have to be hiscontributions towards transforming the traditional jazz-influenced American dance band ofthe time, to a real jazz orchestra(Williams, 51). He once referred to each scale as adifferent color, and a musical scale as a rainbow(Brown, 226). That is why I believe Duke Ellington is the great jazz musician of ourtime. Music to Duke wasmore than a way for him to make a living, but something of a color, life, and meaning.
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Acceptance Essays
