“Duke Ellington Day commemorates the life of jazz musician Edward Kennedy Ellington. Born April 29th, 1899 in Washington D.C., Ellington was a famous American composer, pianist, and bandleader of a jazz orchestra that performed at Harlem's Cotton Club during the 1920s. In the 1930s, his music spread internationally as he and his orchestra toured through Europe. Ellington is considered to have elevated the status of jazz from mere music to an art form. Ellington’s career, which saw him write nearly 2000 compositions, many of which continue to inspire jazz artists today, spanned nearly five decades until he passed away in New York City in May of 1974. In 1999, Ellington was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize to commemorate the centennial of his birth and his contributions to music. A decade later, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg declared April 29th, 2009 as Duke Ellington Day in honor of his 110th birthday.
I thought it would be a good time to watch a couple of videos featuring Duke Ellington.
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