Duke Ellington

About

Duke Ellington (1899-1974) led an illustrious career as a composer, pianist, and bandleader. He is considered by many to be one of America's most brilliant jazz composers of the twentieth century. He performed regularly at the Cotton Club in Harlem, and after World War II toured with his band in Europe regularly, as well as in South America, Asia, and Australia. He also wrote film scores and stage musicals, and several of his instrumental works were adapted into songs that became jazz standards. Ellington was the recipient of numerous Grammy Awards throughout his career, and in 1959 he was awarded the Spingarn Medal from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 1964. The city of New York gave him a prize and Yale University awarded him a Doctor of Music degree in 1967; Morgan State and Washington universities also gave him honorary degrees that year. On his seventieth birthday Ellington was honored by President Richard Nixon (1913–1994) at a White House ceremony and was given the Medal of Freedom. In 1970 he was elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters. Ellington was the most important composer in the history of jazz and his influence over musicians is as important today as it was during his lifetime.

Related Information

Works by Duke Ellington