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Duke Ellington’s music is one of the cornerstones of jazz. He is considered the greatest jazz composer of the 20th century. Before he achieved fame in Harlem nightclubs and eventually worldwide, though, he was Edward Kennedy Ellington born and raised in Washington, D.C.
Celebrate the 125th anniversary of his birth on this walking tour that visits sites associated with the Ellington’s formative years in the LeDroit Park and Shaw neighborhoods and today’s U Street Historic District including:
– The site of the poolroom where young Edward first listened to piano music
– Venues like the Howard Theater where he attended performances—and where he later performed with his band
– Black-owned businesses that contributed to the “city within a city” atmosphere of the segregated Washington in Ellington’s day
These and other sites form the mosaic of Duke Ellington’s childhood and teenage years. Although he departed his nation’s capital hometown as a young man, never to return as a fulltime resident, D.C. left an indelible impression on him.
