(10). From the beginning Duke
             Ellington wanted to be remembered by generations to come that would be
             difficult being the son of a butler and black (The New Grove Dictionary of
             Jazz, 330); in a time when Negroes had many obstacles including the racism that
             About ten years after he started to play piano, he made his professional
             debut. It was nothing glitzy just a pub in uptown (330). Back in Ellington's
             time black performers had to enter through back doors. He was on his way, or
             was he? In 1923 he experienced failure due to financial instability (330). Most
             people would have given up by now but not the Duke. He kept on looking for work. His relentless perseverance paid off. In 1924 Elmer Snowden asked Duke Ellington to join his band and he accepted without question (Collier, 45). So
             Duke moved north to New York and joined the Washingtonians (46). Elmer Snowden was so impressed by his natural ability, which in 1927 he handed his band over to Ellington (Collier, 72). It was the turning point in Ellington's life. He was now the leader of a headlining bank at the Cotton Club. "The Cotton Club--smack dab in the middle of Harlem-but Black people couldn't go there. It
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