Editing Duke Ellington (section)

==Career==
===Early career===
Working as a freelance [[Sign painting|sign painter]] from 1917, Ellington began assembling groups to play for dances. In 1919, he met drummer [[Sonny Greer]] from New Jersey, who encouraged Ellington's ambition to become a professional musician. Ellington built his music business through his day job. When a customer asked him to make a sign for a dance or party, he would ask if they had musical entertainment; if not, Ellington would offer to play for the occasion. He also had a messenger job with the U.S. Navy and State departments, where he made a wide range of contacts.

Ellington moved out of his parents' home and bought his own as he became a successful pianist. At first, he played in other ensembles, and in late 1917 formed his first group, "The Duke's Serenaders" ("Colored Syncopators", his telephone directory advertising proclaimed).<ref name="Simmonds" /> He was also the group's booking agent. His first play date was at the True Reformer's Hall, where he took home 75 cents.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hasse|1993|p=45}}.</ref>

Ellington played throughout the D.C. area and into [[Virginia]] for private society balls and embassy parties. The band included childhood friend [[Otto Hardwick]], who began playing the string bass, then moved to C-melody sax and finally settled on alto saxophone; [[Arthur Whetsel]] on trumpet; [[Elmer Snowden]] on banjo; and Sonny Greer on drums. The band thrived, performing for both African-American and white audiences, rare in the [[Racial segregation|segregated]] society of the day.<ref>{{cite journal |last= Cohen| first= Harvey G.|date=Autumn 2004 |title=The Marketing of Duke Ellington: Setting the Strategy for an African American Maestro |journal=The Journal of African American History |volume= 89|issue=4|pages=291–315 |jstor=4134056|doi=10.2307/4134056| s2cid= 145278913}}</ref>

[[File:Duke Ellington St. Louis Toodle-Oo.jpg|thumb|British pressing of "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" (1927)]]

When his drummer Sonny Greer was invited to join the [[Wilber Sweatman]] Orchestra in New York City, Ellington left his successful career in D.C. and moved to [[Harlem]], ultimately becoming part of the [[Harlem Renaissance]].{{sfn|page=13|Brothers|2018}} New dance crazes such as the [[Charleston (dance)|Charleston]] emerged in Harlem, as well as African-American [[musical theater]], including [[Eubie Blake]]'s and [[Noble Sissle]]'s (the latter of whom was his neighbor) ''[[Shuffle Along]]''. After the young musicians left the Sweatman Orchestra to strike out on their own, they found an emerging jazz scene that was highly competitive with difficult inroad. They [[pool hustling|hustled pool]] by day and played whatever gigs they could find. The young band met stride pianist [[Willie "The Lion" Smith]], who introduced them to the scene and gave them some money. They played at [[Rent party|rent-house parties]] for income. After a few months, the young musicians returned to Washington, D.C., feeling discouraged.

In June 1923, they played a gig in [[Atlantic City, New Jersey]] and another at the prestigious Exclusive Club in Harlem. This was followed in September 1923 by a move to the Hollywood Club (at 49th and Broadway) and a four-year engagement, which gave Ellington a solid artistic base. He was known to play the [[bugle]] at the end of each performance. The group was initially called Elmer Snowden and his Black Sox Orchestra and had seven members, including trumpeter [[James "Bubber" Miley]]. They renamed themselves The Washingtonians. Snowden left the group in early 1924, and Ellington took over as bandleader. After a fire, the club was re-opened as the Club Kentucky (often referred to as the Kentucky Club).

Ellington then made eight records in 1924, receiving composing credit on three including "Choo Choo".<ref>{{Harvnb|Hasse|1993|p=79}}.</ref> In 1925, Ellington contributed four songs to ''[[Chocolate Kiddies]]'' starring [[Lottie Gee]] and [[Adelaide Hall]],{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} an all–African-American revue which introduced European audiences to African-American styles and performers. Duke Ellington and his Kentucky Club Orchestra grew to a group of ten players; they developed their own sound via the non-traditional expression of Ellington's arrangements, the street rhythms of Harlem, and the exotic-sounding trombone growls and wah-wahs, high-squealing trumpets, and saxophone blues licks of the band members. For a short time, soprano saxophonist and clarinetist [[Sidney Bechet]] played with them, reportedly becoming the dominant personality in the group, with Sonny Greer saying Bechet "fitted out the band like a glove". His presence resulted in friction with Miley and trombonist [[Charlie Irvis]], whose styles differed from Bechet's New Orleans-influenced playing. It was mainly Bechet's unreliability—he was absent for three days in succession—which made his association with Ellington short-lived.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lawrence|2001|pp=46–47}}</ref>

===Cotton Club engagement===
In October 1926, Ellington made an agreement with agent-publisher [[Irving Mills]],<ref>Gary Giddins ''Visions of Jazz: The First Century'', New York & Oxford, 1998, pp. 112–113.</ref> giving Mills a 45% interest in Ellington's future.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hasse|1993|p=90}}</ref> Mills had an eye for new talent and published compositions by [[Hoagy Carmichael]], [[Dorothy Fields]], and [[Harold Arlen]] early in their careers. After recording a handful of [[Acoustic recording|acoustic sides]] during 1924–26, Ellington's signing with Mills allowed him to record prolifically. However, sometimes he recorded different versions of the same tune. Mills regularly took a co-composer credit. From the beginning of their relationship, Mills arranged recording sessions on nearly every label, including [[Brunswick Records|Brunswick]], [[Victor Talking Machine Company|Victor]], [[Columbia Records|Columbia]], [[Okeh Records|OKeh]], [[Pathe Records|Pathé]] (and its subsidiary, Perfect), the ARC/Plaza group of labels (Oriole, Domino, Jewel, Banner) and their dime-store labels (Cameo, Lincoln, Romeo), Hit of the Week, and Columbia's cheaper labels (Harmony, Diva, Velvet Tone, Clarion), labels that gave Ellington popular recognition. On OKeh, his records were usually issued as The Harlem Footwarmers. In contrast, the Brunswicks were usually issued as The Jungle Band. Whoopee Makers and the Ten BlackBerries were other pseudonyms.

In September 1927, [[King Oliver]] turned down a regular booking for his group as the house band at Harlem's [[Cotton Club]];<ref>{{Harvnb|Lawrence|2001|p=77}}</ref> the offer passed to Ellington after [[Jimmy McHugh]] suggested him and Mills arranged an audition.<ref>Gutman, Bill. ''Duke: The Musical Life of Duke Ellington'', New York: E-Rights/E-Reads, 1977 [2001], p. 35.</ref> Ellington had to increase from a six to 11-piece group to meet the requirements of the Cotton Club's management for the audition,<ref>Duke Ellington ''Music is my Mistress'', New York: Da Capo, 1973 [1976], pp. 75–76.</ref> and the engagement finally began on December 4.<ref>John Franceschina ''Duke Ellington's Music for the Theatre'', Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2001, p. 16.</ref> With a weekly radio broadcast, the Cotton Club's exclusively white and wealthy clientele poured in nightly to see them. At the Cotton Club, Ellington's group performed all the music for the revues, which mixed comedy, dance numbers, vaudeville, burlesque, music, and [[Prohibition in the United States|illicit alcohol]]. The musical numbers were composed by Jimmy McHugh and the lyrics were written by Dorothy Fields (later Harold Arlen and [[Ted Koehler]]), with some Ellington originals mixed in. (Here, he moved in with a dancer, his second wife [[Mildred Dixon]]). Weekly radio broadcasts from the club gave Ellington national exposure. At the same time, Ellington also recorded Fields-JMcHugh and [[Fats Waller]]–[[Andy Razaf]] songs.

[[File:Vu (magazine) N°77.JPG|thumb| [[Adelaide Hall]] recorded "[[Creole Love Call]]" with Ellington in 1927. The recording became a worldwide hit.]]

Although trumpeter Bubber Miley was a member of the orchestra for only a short period, he had a major influence on Ellington's sound.<ref name="schuller">{{cite journal|last=Schuller|first=Gunther|date=October 1992|title=Jazz and Composition: The Many Sides of Duke Ellington, the Music's Greatest Composer|journal=Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences|volume=46|issue=1|pages=36–51|doi=10.2307/3824163|jstor=3824163}}</ref> As an early exponent of growl trumpet, Miley changed the sweet dance band sound of the group to one that was hotter, which contemporaries termed Jungle Style, which can be seen in his feature chorus in ''East St. Louis Toodle-Oo'' (1926).{{sfn|page=33|Brothers|2018}} In October 1927, Ellington and his Orchestra recorded several compositions with [[Adelaide Hall]]. One side in particular, "[[Creole Love Call]]", became a worldwide sensation and gave both Ellington and Hall their first hit record.<ref>{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjI1tbAXO2w |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140105220224/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjI1tbAXO2w |archive-date=January 5, 2014 |url-status=live |title=Adelaide Hall talks about 1920s Harlem and Creole Love Call |publisher=jazzgirl1920s |via=YouTube |access-date=February 2, 2013 }}{{unreliable source?|date=August 2022}}</ref><ref>Williams, Iain Cameron, [http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/underneath-a-harlem-moon-9780826458933/ ''Underneath a Harlem Moon ... The Harlem to Paris Years of Adelaide Hall''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226182123/https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/underneath-a-harlem-moon-9780826458933/ |date=February 26, 2021 }}, Continuum Publishing Int., 2002 (on pp. 112–117 Williams talks about "Creole Love Call" in-depth).</ref> Miley had composed most of "[[Creole Love Call]]" and "[[Black and Tan Fantasy]]". An alcoholic, Miley had to leave the band before they gained wider fame. He died in 1932 at the age of 29, but he was an important influence on [[Cootie Williams]], who replaced him.

In 1929, the Cotton Club Orchestra appeared on stage for several months in [[Florenz Ziegfeld]]'s Show Girl, along with vaudeville stars [[Jimmy Durante]], [[Eddie Foy, Jr.]], [[Ruby Keeler]], and with music and lyrics by [[George Gershwin]] and [[Gus Kahn]]. [[Will Vodery]], Ziegfeld's musical supervisor, recommended Ellington for the show.{{sfn|pages=53–54|Brothers|2018}} According to John Edward Hasse's ''Beyond Category: The Life and Genius of Duke Ellington'', "Perhaps during the run of ''Show Girl'', Ellington received what he later termed 'valuable lessons in orchestration from Will Vody." In his 1946 biography, ''Duke Ellington'', [[Barry Ulanov]] wrote:

{{blockquote|From Vodery, as he (Ellington) says himself, he drew his [[chromatic scale|chromatic]] convictions, his uses of the tones ordinarily extraneous to the [[diatonic scale]], with the consequent alteration of the harmonic character of his music, it's broadening, The deepening of his resources. It has become customary to ascribe the classical influences upon Duke—[[Frederick Delius|Delius]], [[Claude Debussy|Debussy]], and [[Maurice Ravel|Ravel]]—to direct contact with their music. Actually, his serious appreciation of those and other modern composers, came after he met with Vody.<ref>Ulanov, Barry. ''Duke Ellington'', Creative Age Press, 1946.</ref>}}

Ellington's film work began with ''[[Black and Tan (film)|Black and Tan]]'' (1929), a 19-minute all-African-American [[RKO Pictures|RKO]] short<ref>Stratemann, Klaus. ''Duke Ellington: Day by Day and Film by Film'', 1992. {{ISBN|8788043347}}</ref> in which he played the hero "Duke". He also appeared in the [[Amos 'n' Andy]] film ''[[Check and Double Check]]'' released in 1930, which features the orchestra playing "Old Man Blues" in an extended ballroom scene.{{sfn|page=65|Brothers|2018}} That year, Ellington and his Orchestra connected with a whole different audience in a concert with [[Maurice Chevalier]] and they also performed at the [[Roseland Ballroom]], "America's foremost ballroom". Australian-born composer [[Percy Grainger]] was an early admirer and supporter. He wrote, "The three greatest composers who ever lived are [[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]], [[Frederick Delius|Delius]] and Duke Ellington. Unfortunately, Bach is dead, Delius is very ill but we are happy to have with us today The Duke".<ref>John Bird, ''Percy Grainger''.</ref> Ellington's first period at the Cotton Club concluded in 1931.

===Early 1930s===
Ellington led the orchestra by conducting from the keyboard using piano cues and visual gestures; very rarely did he conduct using a baton. By 1932 his orchestra consisted of six brass instruments, four reeds, and a rhythm section of four players.<ref name="Hodeir">{{cite web|url=http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/08731|title=Ellington, Duke|last=Hodeir|first=André|website=Oxford Music Online|publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=September 15, 2016}}</ref> As the leader, Ellington was not a strict disciplinarian; he maintained control of his orchestra with a combination of charm, humor, flattery, and astute psychology. A complex, private person, he revealed his feelings to only his closest intimates. He effectively used his public persona to deflect attention away from himself.

Ellington signed exclusively to Brunswick in 1932 and stayed with them through to late 1936 (albeit with a short-lived 1933–34 switch to Victor when Irving Mills temporarily moved his acts from Brunswick).

As the Depression worsened, the recording industry was in crisis, dropping over 90% of its artists by 1933.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hasse|1993|p=166}}</ref> [[Ivie Anderson]] was hired as the Ellington Orchestra's featured vocalist in 1931. She is the vocalist on "[[It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)]]" (1932) among other recordings. Sonny Greer had been providing occasional vocals and continued to do in a cross-talk feature with Anderson. Radio exposure helped maintain Ellington's public profile as his orchestra began to tour. The other 78s of this era include: "[[Mood Indigo]]" (1930), "[[Sophisticated Lady]]" (1933), "[[(In My) Solitude|Solitude]]" (1934), and "[[In a Sentimental Mood]]" (1935).

While Ellington's United States audience remained mainly African-American in this period, the orchestra had a significant following overseas. They traveled to England and Scotland in 1933, as well as France (three concerts at the [[Salle Pleyel]] in Paris)<ref>{{Harvnb|Hasse|1993|p=173}}</ref> and the Netherlands before returning to New York.<ref>{{Harvnb|Green|2015|p=221}}</ref><ref name="Gdn20110617">{{cite news|last=Williams|first=Richard|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/17/duke-ellington-mother-dies|title=Duke Ellington's mother dies|work=The Guardian|date=June 17, 2011|access-date=December 5, 2020}}</ref> On June 12, 1933, the Duke Ellington Orchestra gave its British debut at the [[London Palladium]];<ref>{{Harvnb|Hasse|1993|p=385}}</ref> Ellington received an ovation when he walked on stage.<ref>{{Harvnb|Tucker|1993|p=243}}</ref> They were one of 13 acts on the bill and were restricted to eight short numbers; the booking lasted until June 24.<ref name="Gdn20110617" /><ref>{{Harvnb|Stratemann|1992|p=65}}</ref> The British visit saw Ellington win praise from members of the serious music community, including composer [[Constant Lambert]], which gave a boost to Ellington's interest in composing longer works.

[[File:Symphony in Black (1935).webm|thumb|thumbtime=10|''[[Symphony in Black]]'' (1935)]]
His longer pieces had already begun to appear. Ellington had composed and recorded "Creole Rhapsody" as early as 1931 (issued as both sides of a 12" record for Victor and both sides of a 10" record for Brunswick).{{sfn|page=73|Brothers|2018}} A tribute to his mother, "Reminiscing in Tempo", took four 10" 78rpm record sides to record in 1935 after her death in that year.{{sfn|page=75|Brothers|2018}} ''[[Symphony in Black]]'' (also 1935), a short film, featured his extended piece 'A Rhapsody of Negro Life'. It introduced [[Billie Holiday]], and won the [[Academy Award]] for Best Musical Short Subject.<ref>{{Harvnb|Schuller|1989|p=94}}</ref> Ellington and his Orchestra also appeared in the features ''[[Murder at the Vanities]]'' and ''[[Belle of the Nineties]]'' (both 1934).

For agent Mills, the attention was a publicity triumph, as Ellington was now internationally known. On the band's tour through the segregated South in 1934, they avoided some of the traveling difficulties of African Americans by touring in private railcars. These provided accessible accommodations, dining, and storage for equipment while avoiding the indignities of segregated facilities.

However, the competition intensified as swing bands like [[Benny Goodman]]'s began to receive widespread attention. Swing dancing became a youth phenomenon, particularly with white college audiences, and danceability drove record sales and bookings. [[Jukebox]]es proliferated nationwide, spreading the gospel of swing. Ellington's band could certainly swing, but their strengths were mood, nuance, and richness of composition, hence his statement "jazz is music, the swing is business".<ref>{{Harvnb|Hasse|1993|p=203}}.</ref>

===Later 1930s===
From 1936, Ellington began to make recordings with smaller groups (sextets, octets, and nonets) drawn from his then-15-man orchestra.{{sfn|page=91|Brothers|2018}} He composed pieces intended to feature a specific instrumentalist, such as "Jeep's Blues" for [[Johnny Hodges]], "Yearning for Love" for [[Lawrence Brown (jazz trombonist)|Lawrence Brown]], "Trumpet in Spades" for [[Rex Stewart]], "[[Echoes of Harlem]]" for [[Cootie Williams]] and "Clarinet Lament" for [[Barney Bigard]].{{sfn|page=88|Brothers|2018}} In 1937, Ellington returned to the Cotton Club, which had relocated to the mid-town [[Theater District, Manhattan|Theater District]]. In the summer of that year, his father died, and due to many expenses, Ellington's finances were tight. However, his situation improved in the following years.

After leaving agent Irving Mills, he signed on with the [[William Morris Agency]]. Mills, though, continued to record Ellington. After only a year, his Master and Variety labels (the small groups had recorded for the latter) collapsed in late 1937. Mills placed Ellington back on Brunswick and those small group units on Vocalion through to 1940. Well-known sides continued to be recorded, "[[Caravan (1937 song)|Caravan]]" in 1937, and "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart" the following year.

[[File:Duke Ellington in ons land.ogv|thumb|Ellington in 1939]]
[[Billy Strayhorn]], originally hired as a lyricist, began his association with Ellington in 1939.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.billystrayhorn.com/biography.htm |title=William Thomas Strayhorn |editor-last=Stone |editor-first=Sonjia |year=1983 |work=Billy Strayhorn Songs |publisher=University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill |access-date=July 14, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090622191412/http://www.billystrayhorn.com/biography.htm |archive-date=June 22, 2009 }}</ref> Nicknamed "Sweet Pea" for his mild manner, Strayhorn soon became a vital member of the Ellington organization. Ellington showed great fondness for Strayhorn and never failed to speak glowingly of the man and their collaborative working relationship, "my right arm, my left arm, all the eyes in the back of my head, my brain waves in his head, and his in mine".<ref>{{Harvnb|Ellington|1976|p=156}}.</ref> Strayhorn, with his training in classical music, not only contributed his original lyrics and music but also arranged and polished many of Ellington's works, becoming a second Ellington or "Duke's doppelgänger". It was not uncommon for Strayhorn to fill in for Duke, whether in conducting or rehearsing the band, playing the piano, on stage, and in the recording studio.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article_print.php?id=31974 |title=Duke Ellington: Symphony of the Body and Soul |author=d'Gama Rose, Raul|publisher=Allaboutjazz.com |access-date=December 31, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707041536/http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article_print.php?id=31974 |archive-date=July 7, 2012 }}</ref> The decade ended with a very successful European tour in 1939 just as World War II loomed in Europe.

===Early to mid-1940s===
[[File:Duke Ellington at the Hurricane Club 1943.jpg|thumb|right| Ellington at the Hurricane Club, Broadway & W. 51St, New York City,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jackson|first1=Kenneth T.|last2=Keller|first2=Lisa|last3=Flood|first3=Nancy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lI5ERUmHf3YC&pg=PT1951|title=The Encyclopedia of New York|location=New Haven|publisher=Yale University Press|date=2010|page=1951|isbn=978-0300182576}}<!-- The printed version has 1584 pages, the reference here must be inaccurate. --></ref> May 1943]]
Two musicians who joined Ellington at this time created a sensation in their own right, [[Jimmy Blanton]] and [[Ben Webster]]. Blanton was effectively hired on the spot in late October 1939, before Ellington was aware of his name, when he dropped in on a gig of [[Fate Marable]] in St Louis.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Whitehead|first1=Kevin|last2=Bianculli|first2=David|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/10/05/654774239/a-look-back-at-how-virtuoso-jimmy-blanton-changed-the-bass-forever|title=A Look Back At How Virtuoso Jimmy Blanton Changed The Bass Forever|work=NPR|date=October 5, 2018|access-date=June 17, 2021}}</ref> The short-lived Blanton transformed the use of double bass in jazz, allowing it to function as a solo/melodic instrument rather than a rhythm instrument alone.{{sfn|page=99–100|Brothers|2018}}Terminal illness forced him to leave by late 1941 after around two years. Ben Webster's principal tenure with Ellington spanned 1939 to 1943. An ambition of his, he told his previous employer, [[Teddy Wilson]], then leading a big band, that Ellington was the only rival he would leave Wilson for.<ref name="Büchmann-Møller57">{{Harvnb|Büchmann-Møller|2006|p=57}}</ref> He was the orchestra's first regular tenor saxophonist and increased the size of the sax section to five for the first time.<ref>{{Harvnb|Schuller|1989|p=789}}</ref><ref name="Büchmann-Møller57" /> Much influenced by Johnny Hodges, he often credited Hodges with showing him "how to play my horn". The two men sat next to each other in the orchestra.<ref>{{Harvnb|Schuller|1989|p=795}}</ref>

Trumpeter [[Ray Nance]] joined, replacing [[Cootie Williams]] who had defected to [[Benny Goodman]]. Additionally, Nance added violin to the instrumental colors Ellington had at his disposal. Recordings exist of Nance's first concert date on November 7, 1940, at [[Fargo, North Dakota]]. Privately made by [[Jack Towers]] and Dick Burris, these recordings were first legitimately issued in 1978 as ''[[Duke Ellington at Fargo, 1940 Live]]''; they are among the earliest of innumerable live performances which survive. Nance was an occasional vocalist as well, although [[Herb Jeffries]] was the main male vocalist in this era (until 1943) while [[Al Hibbler]] (who replaced Jeffries in 1943) continued until 1951. Ivie Anderson left in 1942 for health reasons after 11 years, the longest term of any of Ellington's vocalists.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/musician.php?id=3424 |title=Musician Ivie Anderson (Vocal) @ All About Jazz |publisher=Musicians.allaboutjazz.com |access-date=February 2, 2013}}</ref>

Once more recording for Victor (from 1940), with the small groups being issued on their [[Bluebird Records|Bluebird]] label, three-minute masterpieces on [[Gramophone record|78 rpm record]] sides continued to flow from Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Ellington's son [[Mercer Ellington]], and members of the orchestra.{{sfn|page=121|Brothers|2018}} "[[Cotton Tail]]", "Main Stem", "[[Harlem Air Shaft]]", "Jack the Bear", and dozens of others date from this period. Strayhorn's "[[Take the "A" Train]]", a hit in 1941, became the band's theme, replacing "[[East St. Louis Toodle-Oo]]". Ellington and his associates wrote for an orchestra of distinctive voices displaying tremendous creativity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theoryjazz.com/artists/ellington.html|title=Jazz Musicians – Duke Ellington|publisher=Theory Jazz|access-date=July 14, 2009|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903233432/http://theoryjazz.com/artists/ellington.html|archive-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref> The commercial recordings from this era were re-issued in the three-CD collection, ''[[Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band|Never No Lament]]'', in 2003.

Ellington's long-term aim, though, was to extend the jazz form from that three-minute limit, of which he was an acknowledged master.<ref>{{cite book|last=Crawford|first=Richard|title=The American Musical Landscape|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley|year=1993|isbn=978-0520077645|url=https://archive.org/details/americanmusicall00rich}}</ref> While he had composed and recorded some extended pieces before, such works now became a regular feature of Ellington's output. In this, he was helped by Strayhorn, who had enjoyed a more thorough training in the forms associated with classical music than Ellington. The first of these, ''[[Black, Brown, and Beige]]'' (1943), was dedicated to telling the story of African Americans and the place of slavery and the church in their history.{{sfn|page=131|Brothers|2018}} ''Black, Brown and Beige'' debuted at [[Carnegie Hall]] on January 23, 1943, beginning an annual series of Ellington concerts at the venue over the next four years. While some jazz musicians had played at Carnegie Hall before, none had performed anything as elaborate as Ellington's work. Unfortunately, starting a regular pattern, Ellington's longer works were generally not well received.

A partial exception was ''Jump for Joy'', a full-length musical based on themes of African-American identity, which debuted on July 10, 1941, at the [[Mayan Theater]] in Los Angeles. Hollywood actors [[John Garfield]] and [[Mickey Rooney]] invested in the production, and [[Charlie Chaplin]] and [[Orson Welles]] offered to direct.<ref>Harvey G. Cohen, ''Duke Ellington's America'', Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2010, p. 189.</ref> At one performance, Garfield insisted that Herb Jeffries, who was light-skinned, should wear makeup. Ellington objected in the interval and compared Jeffries to [[Al Jolson]]. The change was reverted. The singer later commented that the audience must have thought he was an entirely different character in the second half of the show.<ref>{{harvnb|Cohen|2010|pp=190–191}}</ref>

Although it had sold-out performances and received positive reviews,<ref>{{harvnb|Cohen|2010|pp=191–92}}</ref> it ran for only 122 performances until September 29, 1941, with a brief revival in November of that year. Its subject matter did not make it appealing to Broadway; Ellington had unfulfilled plans to take it there.<ref>{{cite web|last=Brent |first=David |url=http://indianapublicmedia.org/nightlights/jump-for-joy-duke-ellingtons-celebratory-musical/ |title=Jump For Joy: Duke Ellington's Celebratory Musical &#124; Night Lights Classic Jazz – WFIU Public Radio |publisher=Indianapublicmedia.org |date=February 6, 2008 |access-date=December 31, 2011}}</ref> Despite this disappointment, a Broadway production of Ellington's ''[[Beggar's Holiday]]'', his sole book musical, premiered on December 23, 1946,<ref>Lawrence, 2001, p. 287.</ref> under the direction of [[Nicholas Ray]].

The settlement of the [[1942–1944 musicians' strike|first recording ban of 1942–44]], leading to an increase in royalties paid to musicians, had a severe effect on the financial viability of the big bands, including Ellington's Orchestra. His income as a songwriter ultimately subsidized it. Although he always spent lavishly and drew a respectable income from the orchestra's operations, the band's income often just covered expenses.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hasse|1993|p=274}}.</ref> However, in 1943 Ellington asked Webster to leave; the saxophonist's personality made his colleagues anxious and the saxophonist was regularly in conflict with the leader.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lawrence|2001|pp=321–322}}.</ref>

===Early post-war years===
Musicians enlisting in the military and travel restrictions made touring difficult for the big bands, and dancing became subject to a new tax, which continued for many years, affecting the choices of club owners. By the time World War II ended, the focus of popular music was shifting towards singing crooners such as [[Frank Sinatra]] and [[Jo Stafford]]. As the cost of hiring big bands had increased, club owners now found smaller jazz groups more cost-effective. Some of Ellington's new works, such as the wordless vocal feature "Transblucency" (1946) with [[Kay Davis]], were not going to have a similar reach as the newly emerging stars.
[[File:Jazz musician Duke Ellington.JPEG|thumb|Ellington poses with his piano at the KFG Radio Studio on November 3, 1954]]

Ellington continued on his own course through these tectonic shifts. While [[Count Basie]], like many other big bands at the time, was forced to disband his whole ensemble and work as an octet for a time, Ellington was able to tour most of Western Europe between April 6 and June 30, 1950, with the orchestra playing 74 dates over 77 days.<ref name="Lawrence291">{{Harvnb|Lawrence|2001|p=291}}</ref> During the tour, according to Sonny Greer, Ellington did not perform the newer works. However, Ellington's extended composition, ''[[Harlem (Ellington)|Harlem]]'' (1950), was in the process of being completed at this time. Ellington later presented its score to music-loving President [[Harry Truman]]. Also during his time in Europe, Ellington would compose the music for a stage production by [[Orson Welles]]. Titled ''Time Runs'' in Paris<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/3965054/Eartha-Kitt.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/3965054/Eartha-Kitt.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Eartha Kitt: Singer who rose from poverty to captivate audiences around the world with her purring voice|date=December 26, 2008|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|access-date=December 14, 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and ''An Evening With Orson Welles'' in [[Frankfurt]], the variety show also featured a newly discovered [[Eartha Kitt]], who performed Ellington's original song "Hungry Little Trouble" as [[Helen of Troy]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stripes.com/news/eartha-kitt-wins-raves-in-welles-show-at-frankfurt-1.16046|title=Eartha Kitt wins raves in Welles' show at Frankfurt|author=Win Fanning |date=August 13, 1950|work=[[Stars and Stripes (newspaper)|Stars and Stripes]]|access-date=December 14, 2014}}</ref>

In 1951, Ellington suffered a significant loss of personnel: Sonny Greer, Lawrence Brown, and, most importantly, [[Johnny Hodges]] left to pursue other ventures. However, only Greer was a permanent departee. Drummer [[Louie Bellson]] replaced Greer, and his "Skin Deep" was a hit for Ellington. Tenor player [[Paul Gonsalves]] had joined in December 1950<ref name="Lawrence291"/> after periods with [[Count Basie]] and [[Dizzy Gillespie]] and stayed for the rest of his life, while [[Clark Terry]] joined in November 1951.<ref>Ken Vail ''Duke's Diary: The Life of Duke Ellington'', Lanham, Maryland & Oxford, UK: Scarecrow Press, 2002, p. 28.</ref>

[[André Previn]] said in 1952: "You know, [[Stan Kenton]] can stand in front of a thousand fiddles and a thousand brass and make a dramatic gesture and every studio arranger can nod his head and say, ''Oh, yes, that's done like this.'' But Duke merely lifts his finger, three horns make a sound, and I don't know what it is!"<ref>[[Ralph J. Gleason]] "Duke Excites, Mystifies Without Any Pretension", ''DownBeat'', November 5, 1952, reprinted in ''Jazz Perspectives'' Vol. 2, No. 2, July 2008, pp. 215–249.</ref> However, by 1955, after three years of recording for [[Capitol Records|Capitol]], Ellington lacked a regular recording affiliation.

===Career revival===
Ellington's appearance at the [[Newport Jazz Festival]] on July 7, 1956, returned him to wider prominence. The feature "[[Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue]]" comprised two tunes that had been in the band's book since 1937. Ellington, who had abruptly ended the band's scheduled set because of the late arrival of four key players, called the two tunes as the time was approaching midnight. Announcing that the two pieces would be separated by an interlude played by tenor saxophonist [[Paul Gonsalves]], Ellington proceeded to lead the band through the two pieces, with Gonsalves' 27-chorus marathon solo whipping the crowd into a frenzy, leading the Maestro to play way beyond the curfew time despite urgent pleas from festival organizer [[George Wein]] to bring the program to an end.

The concert made international headlines, and led to one of only five ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine cover stories dedicated to a jazz musician,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19560820,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061207074656/http://www.time.com/time/covers/0%2C16641%2C19560820%2C00.html |archive-date=December 7, 2006 |title=Jazzman Duke Ellington|magazine=Time |date=August 20, 1956 |access-date=February 2, 2013}}</ref> and resulted in an album produced by [[George Avakian]] that would become the best-selling LP of Ellington's career.<ref name="Sohmer">Jack Sohmer [http://jazztimes.com/articles/10496-ellington-at-newport-1956-complete-duke-ellington "Duke Ellington: ''Ellington at Newport 1956'' (Complete)"] ''JazzTimes'', October 1999.</ref> Much of the music on the LP was, in effect, simulated, with only about 40% actually from the concert itself. According to Avakian, Ellington was dissatisfied with aspects of the performance and felt the musicians had been under-rehearsed.<ref name="Sohmer"/> The band assembled the next day to re-record several numbers with the addition of the faked sound of a crowd, none of which was disclosed to purchasers of the album. Not until 1999 was the concert recording properly released for the first time. The revived attention brought about by the Newport appearance should not have surprised anyone, Johnny Hodges had returned the previous year,<ref>{{Harvnb|Hasse|1995|pp=317–318}}</ref> and Ellington's collaboration with Strayhorn was renewed around the same time, under terms more amenable to the younger man.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hajdu|1996|pp=153–154}}</ref>

The original ''[[Ellington at Newport]]'' album was the first release in a new recording contract with [[Columbia Records]] which yielded several years of recording stability, mainly under producer [[Irving Townsend]], who coaxed both commercial and artistic productions from Ellington.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wein|first=George|title=Myself Among Others: A Life in Music|publisher=Da Capo Press|year=2003}}</ref>

In 1957, [[CBS]] (Columbia Records' parent corporation) aired a live television production of ''[[A Drum Is a Woman]]'', an allegorical suite which received mixed reviews. Festival appearances at the new [[Monterey Jazz Festival]] and elsewhere provided venues for live exposure, and a European tour in 1958 was well received. ''[[Such Sweet Thunder]]'' (1957), based on [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare's]] plays and characters, and ''[[The Ellington Suites|The Queen's Suite]]'' (1958), dedicated to Britain's [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]], were products of the renewed impetus which the Newport appearance helped to create. However, the latter work was not commercially issued at the time. The late 1950s also saw [[Ella Fitzgerald]] record her ''[[Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook|Duke Ellington Songbook]]'' (Verve) with Ellington and his orchestra—a recognition that Ellington's songs had now become part of the cultural canon known as the '[[Great American Songbook]]'.

[[File:James Stewart-Duke Ellington in Anatomy of a Murder trailer.jpg|thumb|[[James Stewart]] and Ellington in ''[[Anatomy of a Murder]]'' (1959)]]
Around this time Ellington and Strayhorn began to work on film [[Film score|scoring]]. The first of these was ''[[Anatomy of a Murder]]'' (1959),<ref name="Hodeir"/> a courtroom drama directed by [[Otto Preminger]] and featuring [[James Stewart]], in which Ellington appeared fronting a roadhouse combo. Film historians have recognized the score "as a landmark—the first significant Hollywood film music by African Americans comprising [[Diegetic#Film sound and music|non-diegetic]] music, that is, music whose source is not visible or implied by action in the film, like an on-screen band." The score avoided the cultural [[stereotypes]] which previously characterized jazz scores and rejected a strict adherence to visuals in ways that presaged the [[French New Wave|New Wave]] cinema of the '60s".<ref>Mark Stryker, "Ellington's score still celebrated", ''[[Detroit Free Press]]'', January 20, 2009; Mervyn Cooke, ''History of Film Music'', 2008, Cambridge University Press.</ref> Ellington and Strayhorn, always looking for new musical territory, produced suites for [[John Steinbeck]]'s novel ''Sweet Thursday'', [[Tchaikovsky]]'s ''Nutcracker Suite'' and [[Edvard Grieg]]'s ''Peer Gynt''.

''Anatomy of a Murder'' was followed by ''[[Paris Blues]]'' (1961), which featured [[Paul Newman]] and [[Sidney Poitier]] as jazz musicians. For this work, Ellington was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Score]].

In the early 1960s, Ellington embraced recording with artists who had been friendly rivals in the past or were younger musicians who focused on later styles. The Ellington and [[Count Basie]] orchestras recorded together with the album ''[[First Time! The Count Meets the Duke]]'' (1961). During a period when Ellington was between recording contracts, he made records with [[Louis Armstrong]] ([[Roulette Records|Roulette]]), [[Coleman Hawkins]], [[John Coltrane]] (both for [[Impulse! Records|Impulse]]) and participated in a session with [[Charles Mingus]] and [[Max Roach]] which produced the ''[[Money Jungle]]'' ([[United Artists Records|United Artists]]) album. He signed to [[Frank Sinatra]]'s new [[Reprise Records|Reprise label]], but the association with the label was short-lived.

Musicians who had previously worked with Ellington returned to the Orchestra as members: Lawrence Brown in 1960 and [[Cootie Williams]] in 1962.

<blockquote>The writing and playing of music is a matter of intent{{nbsp}}... You can't just throw a paintbrush against the wall and call whatever happens art. My music fits the tonal personality of the player. I think too strongly in terms of altering my music to fit the performer to be impressed by accidental music. You can't take doodling seriously.<ref name="current"/></blockquote>

He was now performing worldwide and spent a significant part of each year on overseas tours. As a consequence, he formed new working relationships with artists from around the world, including the Swedish vocalist [[Alice Babs]], and the South African musicians [[Abdullah Ibrahim|Dollar Brand]] and [[Sathima Bea Benjamin]] (''A Morning in Paris'', 1963/1997).

Ellington wrote an original score for director [[Michael Langham]]'s production of Shakespeare's ''[[Timon of Athens]]'' at the [[Stratford Shakespeare Festival|Stratford Festival]] in Ontario, Canada, which opened on July 29, 1963. Langham has used it for several subsequent productions, including a much later adaptation by [[Stanley Silverman]] which expands the score with some of Ellington's best-known works.

===Last years===
[[File:Richard Nixon and Duke Ellington 1969.jpg|thumb|Ellington receiving the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] from [[Richard Nixon|President Nixon]] in 1969]]

Ellington was shortlisted for the [[Pulitzer Prize for Music]] in 1965. However, no prize was ultimately awarded that year.<ref name=Giddins>[[Gary Giddins]], "How Come Jazz Isn't Dead", pp. 39–55 in {{Harvnb|Weisbard|2004|pp=41–42}}. Giddins says that Ellington was denied the 1965 Music Pulitzer because the jury commended him for his body of work rather than for a particular composition. Still, his posthumous Pulitzer was granted precisely for that life-long body of work.</ref> Then 66 years old, he joked: "Fate is being kind to me. Fate doesn't want me to be famous too young."<ref>{{Harvnb|Tucker|1993|p=362}}</ref> In 1999, he was posthumously awarded a [[Pulitzer Prize Special Citations and Awards|special Pulitzer Prize]] "commemorating the centennial year of his birth, in recognition of his musical genius, which evoked aesthetically the principles of democracy through the medium of jazz and thus made an indelible contribution to art and culture."<ref name=pulitzer/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thedukeellingtonsociety.org/dukeellington/dukebio.asp |title=Duke Ellington – Biography |publisher=The Duke Ellington Society |date=May 24, 1974 |access-date=February 2, 2013 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112071049/http://www.thedukeellingtonsociety.org/dukeellington/dukebio.asp |archive-date=November 12, 2012 }}</ref>

In September 1965, he premiered the first of his [[Duke Ellington's Sacred Concerts|Sacred Concerts]]. He created a jazz Christian liturgy. Although the work received mixed reviews, Ellington was proud of the composition and performed it dozens of times. This concert was followed by two others of the same type in 1968 and 1973, known as the Second and Third Sacred Concerts. Many saw the Sacred Music suites as an attempt to reinforce commercial support for organized religion. However, Ellington simply said it was "the most important thing I've done".<ref>{{Harvnb|Ellington|1976|p=269}}.</ref> The [[Steinway & Sons|Steinway]] piano upon which the Sacred Concerts were composed is part of the collection of the [[Smithsonian]]'s [[National Museum of American History]]. Like [[Joseph Haydn|Haydn]] and [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]], Ellington conducted his orchestra from the piano—he always played the keyboard parts when the Sacred Concerts were performed.<ref name="NMAH">{{cite web|url=http://www.piano300.si.edu/collectn.htm|title=Ellington's Steinway Grand|publisher=National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution|access-date=August 26, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080810022114/http://piano300.si.edu/collectn.htm|archive-date=August 10, 2008}}</ref>

Duke turned 65 in the spring of 1964 but showed no signs of slowing down as he continued to make recordings of significant works such as ''[[The Far East Suite]]'' (1966), ''[[New Orleans Suite]]'' (1970), ''[[The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse]]'' (1971) and the ''[[Latin American Suite]]'' (1972), much of it inspired by his world tours. It was during this time that he recorded his only album with [[Frank Sinatra]], titled ''[[Francis A. & Edward K.]]'' (1967). In August 1972, he recorded several solo piano tracks at [[Mediasound Studios]] in New York, with the then brand-new assistant engineer [[Bob Clearmountain]].<ref name="SOSJun1999">{{cite web|last=Lockwood|first=Dave|title=Bob Clearmountain: Master Mixer|url=https://www.soundonsound.com/people/bob-clearmountain-master-mixer|website=Sound On Sound|date=1 June 1999|access-date=18 June 2023}}</ref> The session remained unreleased until 2017, when [[Storyville Records]] released it as ''An Intimate Piano Session''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Mosey|first=Chris|title=Duke Ellington On Storyville Records|url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/duke-ellington-on-storyville-records-by-chris-mosey|website=AllAboutJazz|date=20 March 2017|access-date=22 January 2025}}</ref> 

In 1972–1974 Ellington worked on his only opera, ''[[Queenie Pie]]'', together with [[Maurice Peress]]. Ellington got an idea to write an opera about a black beautician in the 1930s, but did not finish it.<ref name=peress>{{cite book |first=Maurice |last=Peress |title=Dvorak to Duke Ellington |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press, US |isbn=978-0-19-509822-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/dvoraktodukeelli00pere |chapter=Ellington’s Queenie Pie |pages=161–171}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Duke Ellington's Lost Opera, Forever A Work In Progress |url=https://www.npr.org/2014/02/02/269524876/duke-ellingtons-lost-opera-forever-a-work-in-progress |website=npr.org |access-date=March 8, 2023}}</ref>

Among the last shows Ellington and his orchestra performed were one on March 21, 1973, at [[Purdue University]]'s Hall of Music, two on March 22, 1973, at the Sturges-Young Auditorium in [[Sturgis, Michigan]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Vail|first=Ken|title=Duke's Diary: The Life of Duke Ellington|year=2002|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0810841192|pages=449–452|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B9b-fWBgzVQC&pg=PA449}}</ref> and the ''[[Eastbourne Performance]]'' on December 1, 1973, later issued on LP.<ref>{{harvnb|Green|2015|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Mq30BQAAQBAJ&dq=%22Eastbourne+Performance%22+%22Duke+Ellington%22&pg=PT47 47–48]}}</ref> Ellington performed what is considered his final full concert in a ballroom at [[Northern Illinois University]] on March 20, 1974. Since 1980, that ballroom has been dedicated as the "Duke Ellington Ballroom".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.niu.edu/PubAffairs/RELEASES/2003/nov/ellington.shtml|title=NIU to rededicate Duke Ellington Ballroom during Nov. 6 NIU Jazz Ensemble concert|last=McGowan|first=Mark|date=November 3, 2003|publisher=Northern Illinois University|access-date=July 14, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090625194727/http://www.niu.edu/PubAffairs/RELEASES/2003/nov/ellington.shtml|archive-date=June 25, 2009}}</ref>