The exhibition focuses on the life and 50-year career of this legendary composer and band leader-"the Duke" (1899-1974). The show includes manuscripts, rare photographs, artifacts, and film clips. 15-minute video, shown in a stylish theater setting, runs continuously.

But Beyond Category is a handy introduction nonetheless. Beginning with "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo," recorded in November of 1926, the set takes us up through "Lotus Blossom" (from 1967's And His Mother Called Him Bill). The 1999 Buddha version of Beyond Category is only the second compilation to make use of the remastered Ellington sides from RCA's Centennial set, and is preferable to the earlier, longbox version for sound as well as price. Track Listing - Disc 1. Title/Composer.

The Popular Duke Ellington Q&A. Writers Duke Ellington, Ervin Drake, Hans Lengsfelder & 2 more. More Duke Ellington & His Orchestra albums. Will Big Bands Ever Come Back.

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Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American composer, pianist, and leader of a jazz orchestra, which he led from 1923 until his death over a career spanning more than fifty years. Born in Washington, . Ellington was based in New York City from the mid-1920s onward and gained a national profile through his orchestra's appearances at the Cotton Club in Harlem. In the 1930s, his orchestra toured in Europe

The Duke Ellington set contains selections from the Duke's best Victor, Bluebird, and RCA recordings - which is to say many of his best recordings ever - beginning in the late 1920s, when his band and its sound seemed to appear from nowhere fully formed, through pathbreaking records like "Mood Indigo," "Creole Rhapsody," and "Concerto for Cootie," and right up to works from. The emphasis is on the earliest period, as it should be, the twenties and thirties, when the Duke and his band were defining sophistication and elegance and swing.

For Jazz, Ellington was the first orchestra leader to substitute voices for instruments, he popularized the Baritone Sax when he engaged Harry Carney, he influenced countless bands and dance orchestras. Beginning with his "Jungle Band" to his "Famous Orchestra" which appeared at Carnegie Hall numerous times and even introduced several Jazz suite that Duke had composed, Ellington his the most successful and important orchestra leader in Jazz history. Success did not come easily taking him many years of devoted work to make a name for himself.

The Chronological Duke Ellington & His Orchestra 1928 (Classics). Flaming Youth (1927–1929) (RCA Victor) (Released 1965). The Chronological Duke Ellington & His Orchestra 1928–1929 (Classics). The Chronological Duke Ellington & His Orchestra 1929 (Classics). The OKeh Ellington (Columbia) (1927–1930) (released 1991). Anatomy of a Murder (Columbia – soundtrack album). Live at the Blue Note (Roulette). Festival Session (Columbia). Beyond Category: The Musical Genius of Duke Ellington (1927–1967) (Smithsonian). Live In Italy (Jazz–up). Studio Sessions, 1957, 1965, 1966, 1967, San Francisco, Chicago, New York (LMR) released as The Private Collection Volume Eight in 1987.

Duke Ellington, Tarrega, Brouwer, Lorca, Domeniconi, Bogdanovic. Giants Of The Big Band Era: Duke Ellington. Jazz Archives Presents: "If Dreams Come True" Duke Ellington at the Cotton Club,1938.