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Duke Ellington

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life.

Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based in New York City from the mid-1920s and gained a national profile through his orchestra's appearances at the Cotton Club in Harlem. A master at writing miniatures for the three-minute 78 rpm recording format, Ellington wrote or collaborated on more than one thousand compositions; his extensive body of work is the largest recorded personal jazz legacy, and many of his pieces have become standards. He also recorded songs written by his bandsmen, such as Juan Tizol's "Caravan", which brought a Spanish tinge to big band jazz.

At the end of the 1930s, Ellington began a nearly thirty-year collaboration with composer-arranger-pianist Billy Strayhorn, whom he called his writing and arranging companion. With Strayhorn, he composed multiple extended compositions, or suites, as well as many short pieces. For a few years at the beginning of Strayhorn's involvement, Ellington's orchestra featured bassist Jimmy Blanton and tenor saxophonist Ben Webster and reached a creative peak. Some years later following a low-profile period (Hodges temporarily left), an appearance by Ellington and his orchestra at the Newport Jazz Festival in July 1956 led to a major revival and regular world tours. Ellington recorded for most American record companies of his era, performed in and scored several films, and composed a handful of stage musicals.

Although a pivotal figure in the history of jazz, in the opinion of Gunther Schuller and Barry Kernfeld, "the most significant composer of the genre", Ellington himself embraced the phrase "beyond category", considering it a liberating principle, and referring to his music as part of the more general category of American Music. Ellington was known for his inventive use of the orchestra, or big band, as well as for his eloquence and charisma. He was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize Special Award for music in 1999.

Birth and Death Data: Born April 29, 1899 (Washington, D.C.), Died May 24, 1974 (New York City)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1924 - 1968

Roles Represented in DAHR: piano, composer, leader, director, arranger, songwriter, lyricist

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 151-175 of 448 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BS-053430 10-in. 9/5/1940 Warm valley Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra Jazz/dance band director, composer, instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-053435 10-in. 9/6/1940 Stompy Jones Sidney Bechet ; New Orleans Feetwarmers Jazz/dance quintet composer  
Victor BS-053504 10-in. 10/1/1940 Pitter panther patter Jimmy Blanton ; Duke Ellington Bass and piano duet instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Victor BS-053505 10-in. 10/1/1940 Body and soul Jimmy Blanton ; Duke Ellington Bass and piano duet instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-053506 10-in. 10/1/1940 Sophisticated lady Jimmy Blanton ; Duke Ellington Bass and piano duet instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Victor BS-053507 10-in. 10/1/1940 Mr. J. B. blues Jimmy Blanton ; Duke Ellington Bass and piano duet instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Victor BS-053552 10-in. 10/17/1940 The flaming sword Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra Jazz/dance band director, composer, instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-053579 10-in. 10/28/1940 Across the track blues Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra Jazz/dance band director, composer, instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-053580 10-in. 10/28/1940 Chlo-e Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra Jazz/dance band director, instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-053581 10-in. 10/28/1940 I never felt this way before Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra ; Herb Jeffries Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo director, composer, instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-053603 10-in. 11/2/1940 Day dream Johnny Hodges Orchestra Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Victor BS-053604 10-in. 11/2/1940 Good Queen Bess Johnny Hodges Orchestra Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-053605 10-in. 11/2/1940 That's the blues, old man Johnny Hodges Orchestra Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-053606 10-in. 11/2/1940 Junior hop Johnny Hodges Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer, instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-053607 10-in. 11/2/1940 Without a song Rex Stewart Orchestra Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-053608 10-in. 11/2/1940 My Sunday gal Rex Stewart Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer, instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-053609 10-in. 11/2/1940 Mobile Bay Rex Stewart Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer, instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-053610 10-in. 11/2/1940 Linger awhile Rex Stewart Orchestra Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-053621 10-in. 11/11/1940 Charlie the chulo Barney Bigard Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer, instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-053622 10-in. 11/11/1940 Lament for Javanette Barney Bigard Orchestra Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-053623 10-in. 11/11/1940 A lull at dawn Barney Bigard Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer, instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-053780 10-in. 12/28/1940 The sidewalks of New York Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra Jazz/dance band director, instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-053781 10-in. 12/28/1940 Flamingo Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra ; Herb Jeffries Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo director  
Victor BS-053782 10-in. 12/28/1940 The girl in my dreams tries to look like you Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra ; Herb Jeffries Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo director, instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-054604 10-in. 7/19/1940 The sargeant was shy Charlie Barnet Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
(Results 151-175 of 448 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Ellington, Duke," accessed November 1, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/102155.

Ellington, Duke. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/102155.

"Ellington, Duke." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/102155

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