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Article: Was Ellington America's Greatest Composer?(Duke Ellington)
- Article from:
- Ebony
- Article date:
- April 1, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Johnson Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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HE was born 100 years ago on Saturday, April 29, 1899, in a segregated Washington, D.C., neighborhood, and most music experts believe he was the greatest composer produced in the United States.
His name was Edward Kennedy Ellington, but everybody called him Duke, a nickname that was given to him by a friend, just before he entered high school, as a tribute to his elegance and regal bearing.
This was well before he became the man the late jazz critic and historian Ralph J. Gleason called the "greatest composer American society has produced."
This was well before Miles Davis said "all musicians should get down on their knees once a year and thank ...