Duke Ellington
ActingBorn April 29, 1899 · Washington, District of Columbia, USADied May 24, 1974
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and leader of a jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based in New York City from the mid-1920s and gained a national profile through his orchestra's appearances at the Cotton Club in Harlem.
