One of the best jazz artists in world! (chevalierdesaintgeorges.homestead.com)

To me a hero isn't always someone with superpowers, it is someone that you can look up to and appreciate. Jazz was a very popular genre of music in the 1920’s, ‘30’s, and ‘40’s. There were many famous jazz artists during that time period, also known as “The Swing Era”. One of the most famous artists of that time was Edward Kennedy Ellington, better known as “Duke” Ellington. He got the name “Duke” from a childhood friend who commented on his manners and his elegant dress. This talented pianist was born on April 29, 1899 in Washington D.C. Duke Ellington is considered one of the world’s best composers and musicians, and he is my hero.

Duke Ellington doing what he loves. (encarta.msn.com/.../Duke_Ellington.html)

During Ellington’s childhood his favorite thing to do was play baseball. His first job was selling peanuts at Washington Senator’s baseball games. Duke began taking piano lessons around the age of seven or eight, but he didn’t stick to them for long. As he got older he began to appreciate music more and more. Around the age of fourteen, he started looking for and listening to ragtime pianists in Washington. After Duke met and learned from Harvey Brooks, a popular pianist at that time, he started to really get back into playing the piano. This was where Duke Ellington’s career in music began.

Before this amazing performer focused on his musical career, Ellington wanted to study art. Duke attended Armstrong Technical High School, which was an all-black vocational school in D.C. After high school he was offered a scholarship to The Pratt Institute of Fine Art. He turned down the scholarship to pursue his musical career in performing and composing.

Duke Ellington. (www.8notes.com/ pictures/ellington/)

During the summer of 1918 Edward Ellington married Edna Thompson. Edna was a childhood friend of Ellington’s who also had a love for music. On the eleventh of March 1919, Mercer Kennedy Ellington was born. Mercer was their only child, and Duke took him and Edna with him when he moved to New York.

Edward “Duke” Ellington passed at the age of seventy-five on May 24, 1974. This amazing composer, pianist, bandleader, and performer had played over twenty thousand performances worldwide. He made jazz a very popular and very interesting type of music, which is still appreciated today worldwide. He has created a lasting effect on jazz artists, bands, and choirs of today.