Duke Ellington

"Most people only want to hear me do one kind of song," he admits, before playing another kind of song, an erotic how-to ("The things you don't know about your physiology/You don't have to be ashamed") that he delivered in his pristine, smooth croon while maintaining extremely awkward eye contact with the camera. Read More

Joe Jackson and the Bigger Band have announced a Duke Ellington tribute album, titled The Duke , due out June 26. Read More

"That his band was Ellington's instrument has become a clich, but it is a misleading one. An instrument is a passive object that takes its energy from its operator. That's not how Ellington worked. He was a tremendous talent-spotter, and part of what kept that talent close by was his willingness to let it have its voice, and more, to highlight and showcase it, and most importantly, to involve it in the creative process."Read More

When Joe Jackson set out to pay tribute to legendary big band musician Duke Ellington with his latest album, The Duke , he knew that he didn't want it to sound like anything Ellington had done. Read More

Edward Kennedy " Duke " Ellington, arguably America's greatest composer, bandleader and recording artist, was born in Washington, D.C. before the turn of the century on April 29 in 1899. Read More