DUKE ELLINGTON FROM HIS POINT OF VIEW essays

DUKE ELLINGTON FROM HIS POINT OF VIEW essays I am the Duke; the Duke of jazz that is. I have earned it. I have won thirteen Grammys. I was the first jazz musician to be elected as a member of the Royal Music Academy of Stockholm. I have been honored with the Legion of Honor by the French government. And by the end of my fifty year career, I have performed over 20,000 times. All these accomplishments and many more that I am so proud of; but they have not come easy. I had to work for them, and so my story begins. I am sure Daisy Kennedy Ellington and James Edward Ellington, my parents, remember this date better than I do. April 29, 1899. The turn of the century, the day I was born. I was born Edward Kennedy Ellington; I received the name Duke, from a childhood friend. He loved my proper manners, bearing, and the way that I dressed. I was born in Washington, D.C. hence the name of my orchestra, the Washingtonians, but we will get into that later. I started playing the piano at seven, but I was not that interested then. Other aspects of life were on the top of my priorities, I wanted to be a baseball player. However, I still had the heart and passion for the craft. I remember I would travel to Philadelphia with my mother during the summers. There I would look for the best ragtime pianists in the city. Finally, while in Asbury Park, I heard of a hot pianist named Harvey Brooks and I just had to see him. I am grateful, that I met him; he taught me all the tricks and shortcuts of the piano. I am also grateful for Doc. You know Oliver Perry? He taught me the fundamentals, how to red music and he helped me to improve all of my piano skills. Though I had plenty of training, I could not shake my fear of the stage. So I got my first job selling peanuts at the Washington Senators baseball games. There I was somewhat of a performer. I never received an education that was academically oriented. I attended Armstrong Manua...