duke ellington

was going through a transformation from a ragtime style to a jazz-blues mix, Duke was

there to add his own style. He was a composer, conductor, and pianist who revolutionized

the way music was written and earned the title of being the "great American composer."

Duke Ellington was born in Washington, D.C. in 1899. At the age of 17 he began

to play professionally. Due to his love of music, Duke dropped out of high school to

pursue his career as a musician in New York. He arrived in New York in 1923, where

Ellington found that his plans were ruined as the job which awaited him was no longer

available. Next, Duke just happened to run into an old friend, Ada Smith, who help Duke's

band get a job in the club she worked at.

The big city, in the 1920's, was not as glamorous as most people thought it was.

Working in the club, Duke Ellington found himself around shady characters and gun toting

gangsters. Duke's workplace was a hazard in itself. Duke was constantly dodging thrown

bottles from drunks and bullets on a regular basis. Instead, Duke did not allow any of

these things to get in the way of his career or cre

. . .
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Approximate Word count = 815
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)