AbiMcCoy

MusicalTheaterRepertoireI
Dr.NathanHurwitz
19.11.2015
Ellington,ArlenandBerlin
Duke
Ellington,
Harold
Arlen
and
Irving
Berlin
are
all
composers
who
impacted
the
American
music
industry
tremendously.
Their

influence
has
driven
many
composers
in
the
past
and
continues
to
inspire
many
composers
today.
Their
music
style
all
differ
in
some
way
or
the
other,
but
one
may
be
able
to
find
similarities
between

all
of
them.
However,
before
one
can
compare
and
contrast
their
compositions
and
lyrics,
one
must
first
delve
into
each
of
their
backgrounds
to
see
where
they
got
themselves
got
their
inspirations
to
create
and

be
some
of
the
greatestinnovatorsinAmericanmusic.
Duke
Ellington
was
born
on
April
29
th

,
1899,
in
Washington,
D.C.
He
was
born
Edward
Kennedy
Ellington
to
his
father,
James
Edward
Ellington
and
his
mother
Daisy
Kennedy
Ellington.

Growing
up,
Ellington
and
his
parents
stayed
with
his
maternal
grandparents
in
a
neighborhood
in
the
West
End,
a
middleclass
neighborhood
in
Washington,
D.C.
Also,
growing
up,
Ellington
was
surrounded
by
a
very
religious
family;

with
his
father,
a
Methodist
and
his
mother,aBaptiste.Thus,fromayoungagehewasinfluencedlargely
byreligion.
Duke
Ellingtons
interest
in
the
fine
arts
started
at
an
early
age
and
his
interests
were
fostered
by
his
family.
His
mother
and
father
were
both

pianists.
His
fathers
style
consisted
generally
of
operatic
aria,
that
is,
a
long
song
accompanying
a
solo
voice,
while
his
mother
fancied
playing
parlor
songs.
Parlor
songs
are
a
genre
of
popular
music
that
were

performed
in
parlors
of
middleclass
homes.
Due
to
his
parents
background
in
piano
and
their
encouragement,
he
started
his
piano
training
at
the
age
of
seven.
His
first
piano
teacher,
apart
from
his
parents,
wasMariettaClinkscales.

While
Ellington
was
at
Armstrong
Technical
High
School
in
Washington,
D.C.,
his
friend,
Edgar
McEntree,
gave
him
the
nickname
Duke
because
of
his
gentlemanly
ways
and
his
dapper
attire.
At
the
age
of
15,
in

1914,
Ellington
worked
as
a
soda
jerk
in
the
Poodle
Dog
Caf,
here
he
wrote
his
first
composition,
titled
Soda
Fountain
Rag
or
Poodle
Dog
Rag
as
it
was
alsocalled.
During
his
time
at
the

Armstrong
Technical
High
School
he
studied
commercial
art.
Due
to
his
artistry,
he
was
awarded
an
art
scholarship
to
Pratt
Institute
in
Brooklyn,
New
York,
in
1916,
but
he
opted
out
of
the
scholarship.
Consequently,

he
did
not
feel
as
though
he
was
creativelysatisfiedandthus,hedroppedoutofhighforthesakeofhis
music.
Dukes
piano
style
was
influenced
and
inspired
by
an
array
of
pianists.
Some
of
which
included
Doc
Perry,
Cliff
Jackson,
Joe
Rochester,
Louis
Brown,
Sticky

Mack
and
Bling
Johnny.
Of
the
previous
pianists
mentioned
he
was
perhaps
mostly
influenced
by
Doc
Perry.
Doc
was
also
as
a
band
leader
and
Doc
helped
Duke
to
garner
a
better
understanding
of
the

piano
as
an
instrument.
He
also
aided
in
Dukes
ability
to
read
music
sheets
and
helped
to
improve
his
piano
playing
techniques.
Henry
lee
Grant,
a
music
teacher
at
Dunbar
High
School
in
D.C.
was

also
integralinDukesmusiceducation,inthathegaveDukeprivate
lessonsinharmony.
Ellington
began
listening
and
imitating
ragtime
pianists
in
and
around
his
neighborhood,
as
well
as
pianists
from
Atlantic
City
and
Philadelphia.
His
passion
for
ragtime
grew
as
a
result
of
these
performers

and
it
is
through
their
influence
that
he
was
encouraged
to
begin
performing
professionallyattheageof17.