Duke Ellington in the Southern Quote

Edward Kennedy Ellington was born April 29th, 1899 into a solid middle class family in Washington D.C. His father was a White House butler who later became a blue-print maker for the US Navy. By the age of six, Edward was studying piano and art and showing great promise in each. He wrote his first song at fourteen and by seventeen he’d taught himself how to harmonize on the piano. It was during those years that a childhood friend observed Edward’s regal bearing and impeccable taste and decided he needed a title. He deemed his buddy “Duke”, a name so fitting it would stay with the musician for the rest of his life.

Duke Ellington first began making a name for himself by supplying bands for parties and dances around Washington, DC. Several years later he and a few of his musical cohorts moved to New York City where they began gaining recognition as “The Washingtonians.”

Many other talented and colorful musicians were attracted to work with Duke once they discovered his genius for composing pieces that highlighted their distinct musical personalities.

Before long, Duke’s musical genius of instrumental combinations and jazz arrangements, combined with his legendary skills at improvisation, had birthed something so unique it was given its own name. They called it the Ellington sound. Over time, Duke Ellington composed over three thousand pieces of music, including, “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” His legacy and influence remains as strong today as it was during his heyday.

In today’s Southern Quote we hear the man widely recognized as one of the greatest jazz composers and performers of all time explain how he accomplished such a feat. Known as an optimist who always strove for success, the late Duke Ellington once said, “I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues.” — Duke Ellington