Ellington, Duke (Edward Kennedy) (1899-1974)

US pianist Duke Ellington, in a photograph from the 1920s. Ellington led his own orchestra for over 50 years, writing thousands of works, ranging from simple ballads to instrumentals and full-scale suites. He always composed with his orchestra members in mind, and many of them stayed with him for 20 years or more.

US pianist. He had an outstanding career as a composer and arranger of jazz. He wrote numerous pieces for his own jazz orchestra, emphasizing the strengths of individual virtuoso instrumentalists, and became one of the leading figures in jazz over a 55-year period. Some of his most popular compositions include ‘Mood Indigo’ (1930), ‘It Don't Mean a Thing’ (1932), ‘Sophisticated Lady’ (1932), ‘Solitude’ (1934), and ‘Black and Tan Fantasy’ (1938). He was one of the founders of big-band jazz.