Biographical Note
Duke Ellington
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1899 April 29 | Born in Washington, D.C., and named Edward Kennedy Ellington |
| 1906 | Studied piano with Marietta Clinkscales |
| circa 1907 | Given the nickname "Duke" by childhood friends |
| 1913-1914 | Studied commercial art at the Armstrong Manual Training School |
| 1914 | Composed his first work, "The Soda Fountain Rag," while employed as a soda jerk |
| circa 1915 | Studied piano and music theory with "Doc Perry" and Henry Grant |
| 1917 | Offered a scholarship to the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, but declined it in order to pursue a career in music Started his first band, The Duke's Serenaders, also known as the Colored Syncopators |
| 1918 | Married Edna Thompson (divorced 1930) (died 1967) |
| 1919 | Birth of son, Mercer Ellington (died February 8, 1996) |
| 1923 | Moved to New York, New York, and changed his band's name to The Washingtonians Whetsol left the band and Bubber Miley took his place |
| 1923-1927 | Ellington's band performed at the Hollywood Inn in New York, New York |
| 1926 | Signed contract with music publisher Irving Mills, who managed Ellington's recording career until 1939 |
| 1926-1927 | Composed and recorded his first single "East St. Toodle-o" with Bubber Miles, which reached number ten on the Billboard 100 |
| 1927 | Harry Carney joined the band as baritone saxophonist and performed with the ensemble for 47 years |
| 1927-1931 | Ellington's band performed at the Cotton Club in Harlem |
| 1928 | Cootie Williams, known for his innovative use of the mute, replaced Bubber Miley on trumpet Began a relationship with Mildred Dixon (separated 1938), who was a dancer at the Cotton Club |
| 1930 | Composed and recorded "Mood Indigo" with Barney Bigard |
| 1930s | Toured the United States with his band |
| 1932 | Vocalist Ivie Anderson recorded the seminal jazz song "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)," with lyrics by Irving Mills |
| 1932-1933 | Composed and recorded "Sophisticated Lady," wich rose to number three on the Billboard 100 |
| 1933 | Gained international success during his band's first European tour |
| 1935 | Produced the award-winning recording Symphony in Black, which featured Billie Holiday Composed the popular song "Sentimental Mood" |
| 1939 | Billy Strayhorn joined Ellington's band as lyricist, arranger, and pianist, beginning a collaboration that lasted nearly thirty years Composed "Take the 'A' Train" with Billy Strayhorn, which became the band's signature song |
| Early 1940s | Founded the independent record company Tempo Music, Inc. |
| 1943 | Premiered his symphonic work Black, Brown, and Beige, which was a commentary on the history of African Americans and his first large-scale composition |
| 1956 July | Performed at the Newport Jazz Festival with his band |
| 1962 | Recorded the album Monkey Jungle with double-bassist Charles Mingus and drummer Max Roach |
| 1963-1967 | Embarked on international tours across Asia, Australia, the Middle East, South America, and West Africa |
| 1965 | Premiered a Concert of Sacred Music at Grace Catedral in San Francisco, California Nominated for the Pulitzer Prize |
| 1973 | Published his autobiography, Music is My Mistress. New York: Doubleday & Company |
| 1974 May 24 | Died of lung cancer in New York, New York |
| 1999 | Posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize |
Jerry Valburn
Jerry Valburn was a prominent collector of recordings, sheet music, photographs, promotional materials, programs, newspaper clippings, and other materials related to Duke Ellington. Born in Plainview, New York, on December 19, 1925, Valburn began acquiring paraphernalia related to the composer and other musicians at age thirteen. He first heard Ellington perform in December 1940. In 1945, after serving several years in the United States Army, Valburn began to focus his collecting activities almost entirely on Ellington. In 1947, he met Ellington after a concert at Carnegie Hall. During the 1950s, Ellington invited Valburn to tour with the Ellington Band and record their performances. After that, Valburn moved to Long Island, New York, where he worked as an engineer for radio and television. Valburn donated his collection of recordings and other materials related to Ellington to the Library of Congress in 1991. He died in Deerfield Beach, Florida, on March 26, 2010.