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Ellington, Duke, (1899-1974)

American composer, conductor, and pianist, who was one of the most respected figures in the history of jazz, and who brought jazz into concert halls and religious services. He was born Edward Kennedy Ellington in Washington, D.C., and played professionally from the age of 17. In 1923 he moved to New York and organized a ten-piece band. Through the 1930s and 1940s Ellington and his band, greatly enlarged, appeared in theatres and nightclubs, on the radio, and on foreign tours. In 1943 he conducted the first of nine annual concerts at Carnegie Hall, New York.

Ellington’s most characteristic compositions in a sense are in a kind of modified concerto form, being constructed around solo instrumental performances by members of his band. They also frequently introduce vocal passages without words. His style is eclectic, combining blues, various forms of jazz, and the big-band sound of swing music. Among his most famous songs are “Mood Indigo” (1931), “Sophisticated Lady” (1933), and “Solitude” (1934). His large-scale works include Black, Brown, and Beige (1943), Liberian Suite (1948), A Concert of Sacred Music (1965), and Far East Suite (1967); and scores for the films Anatomy of a Murder (1959) and Paris Blues (1961), and for the musical comedies Beggar's Opera (1947) and Pousse-Café (1966). The theme song of Ellington's band after 1941 was “Take the ‘A’ Train”, written by his longtime associate, the lyricist and arranger Billy Strayhorn. Ellington’s autobiography is Music Is My Mistress (1973).