Duke Ellington

(Languages of this post: Interlingua, English)

Edward Kennedy Ellington nasceva le 29 de april, 1899, in Washington, D.C. Su familia viveva in le area afroamerican del citate in un epocha characterisate per le segregation raciste legal in multe partes del Statos Unite, e le odio racial contra afroamericanos affligeva Ellington per omne su vita.

Ellington amava vestimentos elegante. Un amico un vice diceva a ille, “Tu ha le apparentia de un duc”. Su altere amicos rideva al audir isto, ma le nomine Duke remaneva con ille omne su vita.

Quando ille habeva septe annos, Duke Ellington comenciava a sonar le piano. Quando ille esseva un studente de schola secondari, ille comenciava a pinger, e ille deveniva un talento extraordinari como pictor e pianista.

Un schola de arte famose in New York City le invitava a studiar illac. Ma ille jam habeva decidite a devenir un musico. Ille obteneva su prime empleo professional como musico al etate de dece e sex. Ille sonava musica le noctes e pingeva insignias commercial durante le dies.

Le musica le plus popular in ille epocha esseva ragtime. Duke ascoltava pianistas ragtime qui visitava Washington. Ille tunc essayava a tocar tan ben o melio que illes. Unes annos plus tarde, ille registrava un composition ragtime que monstrava su talentos considerabile como pianista. Su titulo esseva “Lots o’ Fingers” (multissime digitos).

Duke Ellington vadeva a viver in New York City in 1923. Ille habeva un parve banda. Tosto ille e su banda travaliava al famose Cotton Club, ubi illo remanerea pro un periodo de multe annos. Duke e su banda poteva travaliar al Cotton Club, ma illes non poteva viagiar pro audir altere bandas proque illes esseva afroamericanos.

Duke non deveniva irate. Ille non comenciava a odiar gente blanc. Ille lassava que su musica exprimeva su sentimentos.

Con le tempore le banda de Ellington deveniva plus grande. Crescente numeros de personas comenciava a audir su musica, que esseva transmittite per radio del Cotton Club. On poteva audir iste programma in omne le partes del Statos Unite.

Al mesme tempore, Duke Ellington e le membros de su orchestra comenciava a facer registrationes de lor musica. Lor prime “hit”, “Dreamy Blues” esseva registrate in octobre, 1930. Plus tarde, Ellington cambiava su titulo a “Mood Indigo”. Illo es un del plus famose de su compositiones, e totevia on sovente lo audi. (Il es possibile audir diverse versiones de “Mood Indigo” in YouTube. Mi version predilecte es illo de Doris Day. Le claritate de expression in su voce es vermente extraordinari.)

Un orchestra es un equipa de musicos individual, e illes debe cooperar muy attentemente pro producer musica belle. Le duce de un orchestra debe apprender le partes forte de debile del habilitates de su musicos. E un bon duce usara tal cognoscimentos pro producer le melior resultatos possibile quando su equipa face su travalio.

In le decadas del annos 1920 e 1930 le membros de un orchestra de dansa generalmente nunquam remaneva multe tempore con un sol gruppo. Ma quando musicos se affiliava con le orchestra de Duke Ellington, illes generalmente remaneva illac multe tempore, a vices per un periodo de annos, proque Duke les custodiava multo ben e como musicos e como personas.

Isto habeva un effecto excellente sur le musica del gruppo. Duke componeva musica dedicate specialmente al talentos de su musicos individual, ganiante assi le loyalitate de omne illes. Un exemplo extraordinari es le composition “A Concerto for Cootie”, que Ellington componeva specialmente pro su trompettero Cootie Williams, qui esseva un membro de su orchestra pro multe annos.

Le orchestra de Duke Ellington esseva como un machina exceptionalmente ben lubricate, e ille poteva inspirar su membros a producer musica con bellissime colores musical. Le musica de su orchestra poteva inspirar profunde emotiones in le personas qui lo audiva, sia de felicitate, de tristitia, de solitude o de joia.

Alicun membros de su orchestra esseva le melior musicos de jazz de lor epocha. Lor musica etiam nunc es famosissime. Ben que multe orchestras de jazz moderne essaya a duplicar le gamma de colores sonor e emotional de Duke Ellington e su equipa de musicos, il es multo difficile reproducer lo que Ellington e su musicos poteva facer con un facilitate quasi miraculose.

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Edward Kennedy Ellington was born on April 29, 1899 in Washington, D.C. His family lived in the African American area of the city in an era characterized by legal racial segregation in many parts of the United States, and racial hatred against African Americans afflicted Ellington for his entire life.

Ellington loved elegant clothes. A friend once said to him, “You look like a duke.” His other friends laughed on hearing this, but the name Duke remained with him his entire life.

When he was seven years old, Duke Ellington started to play the piano. When he was a high-school student, he started to paint, and he became an extraordinary talent as a painter and pianist.

A famous school of art in New York City invited him to study there. But he already had decided to become a musician. He got his first professional job playing music at age sixteen. He played music at night and painted commercial signs during the day.

The most popular music in that era was ragtime. Duke listened to ragtime pianists who visited Washington. He then tried to play as well as they did. A few years later, he recorded a ragtime composition that showcased his considerable talent as a pianist. Its title was “Lots o’ Fingers.”

Duke Ellington went to live in New York City in 1923. He had a small band. Soon he and his band worked at the famous Cotton Club, where it would remain for a period of many years. Duke and his band could work at the Cotton Club, but they could not travel to hear other bands because they were African Americans.

Duke did not get angry. He did not start to hate white people. He let his music express his feelings.

In time Ellington’s band got larger. Growing numbers of people started to hear his music, which was transmitted by radio from the Cotton Club. This program could be heard everywhere in the United States.

At the same time, Duke Ellington and the members of his orchestra started to make recordings of their music. Their first hit, “Dreamy Blues” was recorded in October, 1930. Later on, Ellington changed its title to “Mood Indigo.” It is one of the most famous of his compositions, and it is still often heard. (It is possible to hear various versions of Mood Indigo” on YouTube. My favorite one is Doris Day’s. The clarity of expression in her voice is quite extraordinary.)

An orchestra is a team of individual musicans, and they have to co-operate very carefully to produce beautiful music. The leader of an orchestra must learn the strong and weak points of his musicians’ skills. And a good leader will use such knowledge to produce the best possible results when his team does its work.

In the 1920s and 1930s, the members of a dance orchestra generally never remained with a single group for all that much time. But when musicians joined Duke Ellington’s orchestra, they generally stayed put a long time, at times for a period of years, because Duke took very good care of them both as musicians and as people.

This had an excellent effect on the group’s music. Duke composed music dedicated especially to the talents of his individual musicians, earning in this way the loyalty of all of them. An extraordinary example is the composition “A Concerto for Cootie,” which Ellington composed especially for his trumpeter Cootie Williams, who was a member of his orchestra for many years.

Duke Ellington’s orchestra was like an exceptionally well-lubricated machine, and he could inspire its members to produce music with very beautiful colors in sound. The music of his orchestra could inspire profound emotions in the people who heard it, whether of happiness, sadness, loneliness, or joy.

Some members of his orchestra were the best jazz musicians of their era. Their music is very famous even now. Though many modern jazz orchestras try to duplicate the range of musical and emotional color of Duke Ellington and his team of musicians, it is very difficult to reproduce what Ellington and his musicians could do with an almost miraculous ease.