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Honoring Life and Work of Duke Ellington

Date: Sept. 29, 2004
Location: Washington, DC


HONORING LIFE AND WORK OF DUKE ELLINGTON -- (House of Representatives - September 29, 2004)

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Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, he has been called the "quintessential American composer" and considered to be one of "great musicians along with Bach and Beethoven and Shoenberg." Duke Ellington brought a level of refinement and elegance to jazz.

The Duke's first piano lessons began around the age of seven-but like many youngsters-he was more interested in going to the Washington Senators baseball games than practicing. It took seeing a few great live performances, even sneaking out of school to seek out and listen to ragtime pianists in Washington and, during the summers, in Philadelphia or Atlantic City, where he and his mother vacationed. Duke was taken under the wings of Oliver "Doc" Perry and Louis Brown, who taught Duke how to read music and helped improve his overall piano playing skills. Duke found piano playing jobs at clubs and cafes throughout the Washington area.

In late 1917, Duke formed his first group: The Duke's Serenaders, which years later was renamed as The Washingtonians. By the late 1920s, Duke's band became the most sought-after band in the United States and even throughout the world. Duke Ellington and his band went on to play everywhere from New York to New Delhi, Chicago to Cairo, and Los Angeles to London. Ellington and his band played with such greats as Miles Davis, Cab Calloway, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett and Louis Armstrong. They entertained everyone from Queen Elizabeth II to President Nixon.

Duke Ellington did not just make an impact on music to the world, but he made his hometown of Washington, DC, proud. Thirty years ago Washington, DC, honored him by renaming one high school the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. It only makes sense that in 2005, Washington, DC, will be able to honor The Duke of Jazz once again by hosting 2 days of concerts on the National Mall each year as the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival.

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