Duke Ellington was a significant figure in music history. He was a jazz musician from the 1920s-1970s and was the first black musician to go mainstream. He also created what is known as “big band jazz.” Big band jazz is a certain type of jazz with a large brass and woodwind section, with around 12-25 members in the ensemble.
Ellington started his career in his early teens. He composed his first song titled “Soda Fountain Rag” while he was working in a café. With his band, he composed only instrumental pieces with lyrics added later by another person. Some of the songs he wrote include “Take The ‘A’ Train,” “It Don’t Mean A Thing,” and “Caravan.”
In 1959 he won 3 GRAMMY Awards for Best Performance by a Dance Band. “Mood Indigo” was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame in 1975. In 1974 the Duke Ellington School of Arts, a public high school in Washington D.C, was founded.
Duke Ellington made a huge contribution to the music world, changing jazz forever, and his name should always be remembered.
