Duke Ellington Free Essay Example, 1500 words

Day Month Year The Legacy of Duke Ellington There have been numerous influential musicians over the years. Think of classical music and Beethoven or Mozart come to mind. Consider Rock and Roll for even a moment and the Beatles or Elvis Presley are certain to be become part of the conversation. Likewise, there have been many people over the decades that have had a tremendous impact on jazz music. Jazz is largely an American musical invention, and there have certainly been some great tunes composed over the years. Because of the sheer number of songs recorded and the impact that he had on jazz musicians over the past century, continuing even to this day, Duke Ellington is certainly worthy of inclusion when asking about the top jazz artists of all time. This brief paper will examine the life and legacy of Duke Ellington. Let us begin with some well known facts about Mr. Ellington. He was born in Washington D. C. on April 29, 1899. Unlike many black composers of his time, Duke Ellingto n did not grow up in poverty. We will write a custom essay sample on Duke Ellington or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Rather, he was raised in a middle-class area of Washington D. C. by two involved and seemingly loving parents. In fact, his parents were talented musicians as well, which lends credence to the saying ‘like father like son’. Naturally, Duke’s father encouraged him to learn to play various instruments from an early age. It is noted that, by the age of 7, he was already learning and getting quite good at the piano (Unger 75). As the story goes, the name ‘Duke’ was bestowed upon him because he was such a gentleman in all that he did, even from an early age. His parents encouraged him to work when he was a teenager, which he did, but his first passion was always music. It is well known that his first published song was wrote while he was working at a soda fountain in the D. C. era. The song ‘Soda Fountain Rag’ was written at the age of 15 and was noticed by many people in the area as the song that got Duke n oticed. He was so musically inclined that he was offered a scholarship at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. As appealing as that was to him, and with his parent’s blessings, he passed it up to begin playing professional as a jazz musician when he was only 17 years of age (Unger 75). As the reader can already ascertain, Duke Ellington began to shape his legacy at an early age. He was raised properly by parents who nurtured him and helped him to foster his own love and passion for music. People in the D. C. area quickly figured out that they might have a child protege on his hands.