Hey Swingers, Cool cats, those few be-bops! Ha, ha! I’ve heard around the block, that some of the cool kids thought I was the bee’s knees in my time. Ya know “I merely took the energy, it takes to pout and wrote some blues,” (Ellington, unknown) to make my music. I prefer Jazz, I just like the swinging of the beats and the smooth riffs produced by those kicking instruments. And to people who thought my music was ‘some type of an abomination’ just because of the color of my skin, calm down, it’s a new age, chill out my friends. But, the critics, the “Critics have their purposes, and they're supposed to do what they do, but sometimes they get a little carried away with what they think someone should have done, rather than concerning themselves with what they did.”(Ellington, 1973)
I was born in April 29th, 1899 in Washington D.C. in the United States. O’er the years I think I’ve wrote and composed a lotta pieces, about 2,000 I think. People say ‘I’m a gifted piano player’ I love playing instruments. But I love conducting orchestra, it’s just me. My motif, my style! I love playing music it makes me so happy, the rhythm gets me going. Moving to the beat of the drum! And that’s how I’ve always felt since music became a part of me.
-Duke Ellington
