Duke Ellington :: essays research papers

Edward Kennedy Ellington, American jazz composer, orchestrator, bandleader, and pianist, is considered to be the greatest composer in the history of jazz music and one of the greatest musicians of the twentieth century. He composed over 2000 works and performed numerous concerts during his musical career. A compilation of some of his about popular music is collected on a CD called & angstrom unitquotThe Popular Duke Ellington.& adeninequotEllington personally created most of the music played by his orchestra. He often wrote opuss for specific players with distinctive musical styles in his band, such as &quotConcerto for Cootie&quot (1940) for fellow musician and trumpeter, Cootie Williams. With the help from American trumpeter crowd together &quotBubber&quot Miley, Ellington often incorporated in his music the hobo camp effect. This effect was made by placing a plunger at the first step of a institution instrument, therefore, muffling or muting the notes played out . The result with child(p)ed the like a person wailing, giving the piece a voice-like quality. In &quotConcerto for Cootie,&quot Cootie Williams does a solo using the jungle effect, making it sound like a voice is singing along. His opening solo is repetitive, handout over the same set of notes over and over again. The overall shade is as if the music is wooing the listener. Ellingtons other innovations include the use of the gentle voice as an instrument, such as in "Creole whop Call" (1927). He also placed instruments in unusual combinations, illustrated in the piece &quotMood Indigo&quot (1930). When the orchestra performs this piece, three soloists keep going out in front of the stage, playing three different instruments. extemporisation was a big part of Ellingtons music. One of Ellington orchestras spot tunes is &quotTake the A Train&quot (1941). This piece was not written by Ellington but by American composer Billy Strayhorn, who became Ell ingtons musical collaborator. This piece is very jumpy and light, making you feel like tapping your feet and following the beat. In the background is a piano in tempo style that accompanies the brass instruments.Ellington often wrote evocative music, such as "geartrain" (1936), which he intended as a portrait of an exotic locale. The piece is a cross between Latin jazz and music that is Aladdin like. The brass instruments in the background are playing in ostinato form. This piece was written by Puerto Rican Juan Tizol who played the trombone solo. Cootie Williams would later improvise on the piece, approaching up with his own version of &quotCaravan.