
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American composer, pianist, and leader of a jazz orchestra, which he led from 1923 until his death over a career spanning more than six decades. Born in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based in New York City from the mid-1920s onward and gained a national profile through his orchestra's appearances at the Cotton Club in Harlem. In the 1930s, his orchestra toured in Europe. Although widely considered a pivotal figure in the history of jazz, Ellington embraced the phrase "beyond category" as a liberating principle and referred to his music as part of the more general category of American Music. Some of the jazz musicians who were members of Ellington's orchestra, such as saxophonist Johnny Hodges, are considered among the best players in the idiom. Ellington melded them into the best-known orchestral unit in the history of jazz. Some members stayed with the orchestra for several decades. A master at writing miniatures for the three-minute 78 rpm recording format, Ellington wrote 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, for example Juan Tizol's "Caravan", and "Perdido", which brought a Spanish tinge to big band jazz. In the early 1940s, 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 many extended compositions, or suites, as well as additional short pieces. Following an appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival in July 1956, Ellington and his orchestra enjoyed a major revival and embarked on 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. Ellington was noted for his inventive use of the orchestra, or big band, and for his eloquence and charisma. His reputation continued to rise after he died, and 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 1-25 of 383 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | B-31113 | 10-in. | 10/22/1924 | Choo-choo (I gotta hurry home) | Billy Murray ; Ed Smalle | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | composer | |
Victor | BVE-34797 | 10-in. | 4/22/1926 | Jig walk | Jean Goldkette Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | BVE-37527 | 10-in. | 1/10/1927 | Make me love you | Duke Ellington Orchestra ; Evelyn Preer | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | director, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BVE-37528 | 10-in. | 1/10/1927 | If you can't hold the man you love (Don't cry when he's gone) | Duke Ellington Orchestra ; Evelyn Preer | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | director, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BVE-39370 | 10-in. | 10/26/1927 | Creole love call | Duke Ellington Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, piano, composer | |
Victor | BVE-39371 | 10-in. | 10/26/1927 | Blues I love to sing | Duke Ellington Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, piano, composer | |
Victor | BVE-40155 | 10-in. | 10/6/1927 | Black and tan fantasie | Duke Ellington Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | director, instrumentalist, piano, composer | |
Victor | BVE-40156 | 10-in. | 10/6/1927 | Washington wabble | Duke Ellington Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | director, instrumentalist, piano, composer | |
Victor | BVE-41244 | 10-in. | 12/19/1927 | Harlem River quiver | Duke Ellington Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | director, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BVE-41245 | 10-in. | 12/19/1927 | East St. Louis toodle-oo | Cotton Club Orchestra ; Duke Ellington | Jazz/dance band | director, instrumentalist, piano, composer | |
Victor | BVE-41246 | 10-in. | 12/19/1927 | Blue bubbles | Duke Ellington Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | director, instrumentalist, piano, composer | |
Victor | BVE-43502 | 10-in. | 3/26/1928 | Black beauty | Cotton Club Orchestra ; Duke Ellington | Jazz/dance band | director, instrumentalist, piano, composer | |
Victor | BVE-43503 | 10-in. | 3/26/1928 | Jubilee stomp | Cotton Club Orchestra ; Duke Ellington | Jazz/dance band | director, instrumentalist, piano, composer | |
Victor | BVE-43504 | 10-in. | 3/26/1928 | Got everything but you | Cotton Club Orchestra ; Duke Ellington | Jazz/dance band | director, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BVE-47799 | 10-in. | 10/30/1928 | The mooche | Cotton Club Orchestra ; Duke Ellington | Jazz/dance band | director, instrumentalist, piano, composer | |
Victor | BVE-48100 | 10-in. | 10/30/1928 | Santa Claus, bring my man back to me | Hot Five [Ellington ensemble] ; Ozie Ware | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BVE-48101 | 10-in. | 10/30/1928 | I done caught you blues | Hot Five [Ellington ensemble] ; Ozie Ware | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BVE-48102 | 10-in. | 10/30/1928 | I can't give you anything but love | Cotton Club Orchestra ; Duke Ellington | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BVE-48103 | 10-in. | 10/30/1928 | No papa no | Duke Ellington Orchestra | Jazz/dance band (take 1); with female vocal solo (take 2) | director, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BVE-48166 | 10-in. | 11/15/1928 | Bandanna babies | Cotton Club Orchestra ; Duke Ellington | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BVE-48167 | 10-in. | 11/15/1928 | Diga diga do | Cotton Club Orchestra ; Duke Ellington | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BVE-48168 | 10-in. | 11/15/1928 | I must have that man | Cotton Club Orchestra ; Duke Ellington | Jazz/dance band | director, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BVE-48373 | 10-in. | 2/18/1929 | Japanese dream | Duke Ellington Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | leader, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BVE-48374 | 10-in. | 2/18/1929 | Harlemania | Duke Ellington Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | leader, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | CVE-49007 | 12-in. | 12/20/1928 | St. Louis blues | Warren Mills and his Blue Serenaders | Jazz/dance band, with mixed vocal chorus | instrumentalist, piano |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Ellington, Duke," accessed May 22, 2022, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102155.
Ellington, Duke. (2022). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved May 22, 2022, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102155.
"Ellington, Duke." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2022. Web. 22 May 2022.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Duke Ellington
Discogs: Ellington, Duke
Spotify: Ellington, Duke
Allmusic: Ellington, Duke
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50080187
Wikidata: Duke Ellington - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q4030
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/66651610
MusicBrainz: Duke Ellington - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/3af06bc4-68ad-4cae-bb7a-7eeeb45e411f
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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