Duke Ellington is not only considered the greatest composer of Jazz, but also the greatest composer of the big band era. He is undoubtedly Jazz royalty.
Big Band music during the swing era was extremely influential during the 1930s and 1940s and Big-band jazz was very popular for dancing.
During the Big Band Era, a musical group’s ability to perform swing often defined their success. Duke Ellington and his group executed this flawlessly.
Growing up in the home of the wealthy doctor his father worked for, Duke Ellington’s mother raised him to be aware that he was destined for greatness.
His instrument of choice was the piano and he received ragtime piano experience from a local pool hall and soon he began to take his music more seriously.
He took lessons from James P. Johnson and by the early 1920s, Duke Ellington had made a name for himself in Washinton.
By 1927 he and his band had a four-year contract playing at the famous Cotton Club in Harlem.
Duke Ellington defined swing music as an unmechanical but hard-driving and fluid rhythm over improvisation, which was his forte.
His sound was unique, and his style of music was centered around dismantling barriers between music genres and combining them. This was described as the Ellington Effect.
You can hear elements of the Ellington Effect in his song, Satin Doll.
Big Band music during the swing era was extremely influential during the 1930s and 1940s and Big-band jazz was very popular for dancing.
During the Big Band Era, a musical group’s ability to perform swing often defined their success. Duke Ellington and his group executed this flawlessly.
Works Cited: Class Textbook| 7 Things You Might Not Know About Duke Ellington – Biography
