Duke Ellington and his instrumental contribution to Jazz music
Jazz Music
Jazz began as a music primarily derived from blues. Taking the strict rhythmic and tonal nodes and loosening the structure to provide a more “flowey” style. In the beginning, the music was used mostly for dancing and entertainment purposes. Live shows were extremely popular which helped in the progression of jazz artist. This was primarily popular in the 20th century, however the music carries on even today.
Duke Ellington
Jazz gave us many brilliant musicians. During this era we saw Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, Ray Charles, Nina Simone and many more artist gain widespread popularity. These artist have historical impact from their songs and music and their music has carried through samples in other music. However a personal favorite of mine is Duke Ellington.
Jazz, unlike some other genres, is extremely instrumental focused. Along with the vocals, the bass, piano, trumpet, saxophone, and other instruments are extremely important parts of the song. Unlike other artist of the decade, Ellington is mostly a musician. Having the fame and historical impact as he does, this is rare. He began in piano playing mostly in clubs and speakeasy’s and eventually made his way to international notoriety. Not only was Ellington award winning but he also had an eye for talent, at one point introducing Billie Holiday. His influence has been and will be noticed for generations.
