Duke Ellington
According to numerous biographers, Edward Kennedy Ellington received the nickname "Duke" from a childhood friend who clearly saw in early life what the rest of the world celebrated in his brilliant fifty year career. Indeed, as a young fellow growing up in Washington, D.C.'s middle class, he would often begin his school days by ordering his mother and his Aunt Florence to stand at the foot of the parlor stairs as he descended to pay him the proper acknowledgment. "This," he would say, pronouncing each word with his famous articulation, "is the great, the grand, the magnificent Duke Ellington!"With that, he would bow to their adoring applause before running off to class.
Regarded by most musicologist as the most prolific American composer of the 20th century, the Duke was also a peerless arranger and conductor whose ban performed such classics as "Mood Indigo," "Sophisticated Lady" and "Black and Tan Fantasy" for presidents, European aristocracy and countless music lovers on several continents. Tall, handsome and unfailingly splendid in his sartorial attire, Duke Ellington photos typically portray him as the proud, elegant Southern gentleman he was. This Hugh Bell picture is different in that it captures another aspect of Ellington's nature -- his spontaneity and love of laughter. Bell recalls that when he saw the Duke at this 1970's Tennessee concert, "...he saw my dark face among a sea of lighter hued faces and obligingly snapped his finger in rhythm. It's a unique picture because most photos of Duke show him in a dignified pose."
Writer Nancy Thompson