An American jazz composer, orchestrator, bandleader, and pianist, composer of jazz music, I am all of this and probably more. I am Edward Kennedy ("Duke") Ellington. I was nicknamed "Duke" by a boyhood friend of mine who admired my royal air. And the name stuck to me. I grew up listening to black music. At that time jazz was considered low and vulgar by most respectable and sophisticated people like myself. I was born in Washington on April 29, 1899. Born to the son of James William Ellington and Eliza Jane Johnson. I am said to be the most prolific composer of my time. I've never actually had much education, but still I was able to develop good speech, dress, and manner. When I was young, the times were bad for us. There was agricultural depression. My family lived as middle-class citizens. We weren't wealthy nor were we poor. My parents have musical backgrounds.
I got my first job selling peanuts at Washington Senator's baseball games, and it was the first time I was placed as a......

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Title: Ellington
Approximate Word Count: 948
Approximate Pages: 4 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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