Duke Ellington
Another jazz great was Duke Ellington. When he was growing up he really didn’t like the piano. He listened to a lot of rag, but he kept looking for another sound, a sound to call his own. He lived in Washington with his mom. He wrote his first composition, " Soda Fountain Rag", in his teens. He turned down an art scholarship so he could continue with music. He then formed a band. They got well known locally, and then went to New York City. They then started to make music and find their own sound. Duke changed bands several times in his wonderful career. His mom died, and he started to fall into a slump. He came out of it, and started to write his own music. Then the Duke died, May 24, 1974. These are two men who were big in jazz, but there were also women.
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