Duke Ellington Research Paper

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During the Roaring 20’s, as the Harlem Renaissance is taking place, many musicians who will soon become jazz legends come about. One of these jazz legends is Duke Ellington: a pianist, bandleader, and composer. Born on April 29, 1899, in Washington D.C., he grew up listening to all genres. His musical journey began at Garnet Elementary in Chestertown, Maryland, where he started piano lessons at 7. After pursuing other artistic endeavors, he settled on music being his passion and moved to New York to play in the Cotton Club with his band. As the College Music Society suggests, Duke Ellington influenced many pianists today with his innovative techniques and styles. For instance, Dr. Matthew Cooper (Eastern Oregon University) states, “Ellington initiated a percussive strain in jazz piano …show more content…

He showed the other bands and jazz ensembles at the Cotton Club how much you can do on piano and how it is more than an accompaniment. Delving deeper into Ellington’s impact on music, his jazz composition changed the future of the genre as a whole and its artists. While on NPR Music’s radio station, singer Nancy Wilson hosted a documentary where she informs that “Ellington vividly communicated universal ideas, while inventing musical concepts that helped elevate jazz to a sophisticated art form (Wilson).” Afterward, in the documentary, she spoke about “Duke's inexhaustible quest to discover new musical ideas, as he experimented at his piano through the night. rhythm was a fundamental element in all of Ellington's works (Wilson).” Before the Harlem Renaissance, jazz wasn’t globally However, Duke Ellington's “melodies derived from the blues and other folk idioms (Wilson)” began to change that perception. By implementing ideas from established genres, Ellington made his compositions more accessible to white listeners, considering unfamiliar people engage with familiar