'Duke' Ellington
/ˌdjuːk ˈelɪŋɡtən/
/ˌduːk ˈelɪŋtən/
- (1899-1974) a US jazz musician who played the piano and wrote music for the band he led. The band became well known at the Cotton Club in Harlem and played a concert at Carnegie Hall (1943). Ellington wrote more than 2 000 pieces, including Mood Indigo (1930), It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing (1932) and Sophisticated Lady (1933). He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969.