Duke Ellington is a legend in American Jazz music. He was born in 1899 in Washington DC. Both of his parents were pianists and at 7 he began having piano lessons with Marietta Clinkscales. He gained the nickname “Duke” in childhood as his friends saw how his behaviour was noble like. At 15, whilst he was working in a Café he wrote his first composition, “Soda Fountain Rag”. At 18 he moved out formed his own group, “The Duke’s Serenaders”. The band did well as he performed for both black and white audiences. During his career he wrote over a thousand compositions. He mastered using Big Band and Jazz orchestra. Much of his work has become standard repertoire for Jazz musicians now.

Below is an example of Ellington’s most popular track on Spotify: