Edward Kennedy Ellington also known as Duke Ellington was born on April 29, 1899 in Washington, DC, in a prosperous middle class family. He was a bandleader, composer, pianist, and arranger. Duke Ellington successfully played in different styles including orchestral jazz, swing, progressive big band, and jazz. Moreover, he wrote music for movies and musicals. Both of his parents were pianists, and his father also made blueprints for the United States Navy. When Duke was seven years old, he began taking piano lessons. His mother made a great effort to raise his son to be elegant and well mannered. His peers noticed his dressing style and natural grace and began referring to him as Duke. Besides piano lessons, Ellington was also interested in baseball. He wrote his first composition Soda Fountain Rag, creating the piece by ear, since he did not know how to read or write music. When Ellington was 14 years old, he began sneaking into Frank Holidays Poolroom. He was listening to the piano music and began to love the instrument. Before that, he was skipping on many of his piano lessons but now started to take them seriously. In 1916, Duke Ellington started playing gigs in the Washington D.C. area cafes and clubs. He turned down the art scholarship to the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn to pursue his music career.
