Inspirational Quotations

Inspirational Quotes by Duke Ellington (American Musician)

Duke Ellington (1899–1974,) born Edward Kennedy Ellington, was an American jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader. For over half a century, Ellington composed thousands of scores. His band created one of the most distinctive ensemble sounds in all of Western music.

Born in Washington, D.C., Ellington received his only formal musical education through elementary piano lessons. Influenced while young by ragtime performers, he began to perform professionally at age 17. In 1927, he started a four-year residence at the Cotton Club in Harlem, which offered him a high-profile live engagement and regular radio airtime access.

Ellington’s music was primarily written and performed as the accompaniment for dance shows. He emerged as one of the most prominent jazz composers of all time and produced around 2,000 works. His notable works include Mood Indigo (1930.)

Ellington broke new ground in jazz by writing extended works and suites like Black, Brown, and Beige (1943) and The Perfume Suite (1945.) He also wrote and performed music for films, the most important of which were Anatomy of a Murder (1959) and Paris Blues (1961.)

Ellington’s vast discography is among the richest in jazz. He wrote a memoir, Music is My Mistres (1973.) His son Mercer Ellington wrote the memoir, Duke Ellington, In Person (1978.)

More: Wikipedia READ: Works by Duke Ellington

By and large, jazz has always been like the kind of a man you wouldn’t want your daughter to associate with.
Duke Ellington
Topics: Jazz

Art is dangerous. It is one of the attractions: when it ceases to be dangerous you don’t want it.
Duke Ellington
Topics: Arts, Artists, Art

Gray skies are just clouds passing over.
Duke Ellington
Topics: Optimism, Adversity

There are two kinds of worries—those you can do something about and those you can’t. Don’t spend any time on the latter.
Duke Ellington

A problem is your chance to do your best.
Duke Ellington
Topics: Problems

Jazz today, as always in the past, is a matter of thoughtful creation, not mere unaided instinct.
Duke Ellington
Topics: Jazz

A problem is a chance for you to do your best.
Duke Ellington
Topics: Adversity, Problem-solving, Doing Your Best, Problems, Difficulties, Chance

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