Monday, March 19, 2012

Biography: Duke Ellington


Duke Ellington was a musician active during the Harlem Renaissance. He was born as Edward Kennedy Ellington on April 29, 1899 in Washington, D.C. His parents brought him up as a gentleman, which earned him the nickname "Duke". Both of his parents were pianists, so it was only natural that he picked up the instrument himself at the early age of seven. In the 1920s, Ellington moved to Harlem and started to play shows at The Cotton Club.

Though he mainly focused on jazz, Ellington's music spanned many genres, including blues, gospel, and classical. During his 50-year career Ellington composed over a thousand pieces and was a widespread influence on jazz music.

Duke Ellington represents the Harlem Renaissance theme of pride. He believed that representing African-American culture in a positive way was the best way to fight racism.



Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_ellington

8 comments:

  1. nice bio raina! i really like what you've written, and i actually learned something, no joke. I especially like the "duke" part

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Punkin angel jones you know nothing

      Delete
    2. did you get this from Wikipedia bad information

      Delete
  2. Nice job me and my friend appleseed chicken loved this so much

    ReplyDelete