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Duke Ellington. President Nixon ... James Edward Ellington, son of a former slave,
was born on April 15, 1879 in North Carolina. He then ...
The Famous Duke Ellington. The ... Ellington. Duke Ellington was born into a middle
class family. Duke's mother's name was Daisy Kennedy. ...
duke ellington. By the time of his passing, he was considered amongst the world's
greatest composers and musicians. ... He was The Duke, Duke Ellington. ...
Edward Kennedy Ellington. The man was born Edward Kennedy Ellington; but
he exists in the eyes of American culture as the Duke. He ...
Duke Ellington. ... With the help from American trumpeter James "Bubber" Miley,
Ellington often incorporated in his music the jungle effect. ...
Submitted by poopie1234 on May 1, 2005
Category: Biographies
Words: 948 | Pages: 4
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An American jazz composer, orchestrator, bandleader, and pianist, composer of jazz music, I am all of this and probably more. I am Edward Kennedy ("Duke") Ellington. I was nicknamed "Duke" by a boyhood friend of mine who admired my royal air. And the name stuck to me. I grew up listening to black music. At that time jazz was considered low and vulgar by most respectable and sophisticated people like myself. I was born in Washington on April 29, 1899. Born to the son of James William Ellington and Eliza Jane Johnson. I am said to be the most prolific composer of my time. I've never actually had much education, but still I was able to develop good speech, dress, and manner. When I was young, the times were bad for us. There was agricultural depression. My family lived as middle-class citizens. We weren't wealthy nor were we poor. My parents have musical backgrounds.
I got my first job selling peanuts at Washington Senator's baseball games, and it was the first time I was placed as a performer for a crowd. When I was a teenager I played the piano in a musical style known as ragtime. I attended Armstrong Manual Training School to study commercial art instead of going to an academics-oriented school. During the summers, in Philadelphia or Atlantic City, I began to seek out and listen to ragtime pianists there. While I was on vacation in Asbury Park, there was a hot pianist that I heard of, his name was Harvey Brooks. Guess what? At the end of my vacation I went and sought for Harvey Brooks in Philadelphia, that was where he showed me some pianistic tricks and shortcuts. His playing triggered me to start up my music career, and then you have it, me, Duke Ellington the musical is born. I learnt from Oliver "Doc" Perry and Louis Brown, they taught me to read music and helped me improve me playing skills on the piano. I also went to find piano playing jobs at clubs and cares in Washington. I actually dropped out of school to pursuer my music career. I played for...
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