#Duke Ellington

[cosmonautroger]

Duke Ellington, Take The A Train, Italy, 1966

[citizenscreen]

Duke Ellington and Quincy Jones rehearsing for the 1974 tribute special, “Duke Ellington... We Love You Madly.”

[tygerland]

Duke Ellington (seated) and Louis Armstrong New York City, 1955, by Irving Penn.

[classicfilmblr]

Murder at the Vanities | 1934 dir. Mitchell Leisen

[joeinct]

Duke Ellington, Paris, Photo by Herman Leonard, 1960

[perfectquote]

A problem is a chance for you to do your best.

Duke Ellington

[thoughtkick]

A problem is a chance for you to do your best.

Duke Ellington

[davidhudson]

Louis Armstrong, August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971.

With Duke Ellington. 1960 photo by Herman Leonard.

[kemetic-dreams]

Selma Burke began playing with clay around the age of seven. And with that experience, she discovered a love of making sculptures. “It was there in 1907 that I discovered me,” she said, looking back.

While Selma loved art, her mother encouraged Selma to pursue a financially stable career. So Selma studied nursing and took a job as a private nurse in New York City in the late 1920s.

But in New York City, Selma found much inspiration from the Harlem Renaissance scene. She found a community of artists and began making art a more significant part of life.

To improve her skills, Selma began taking art classes at Sarah Lawrence College. She then traveled to Europe for training and projects. In 1941, Selma earned an MFA from Columbia. And the year prior, while still a student herself, she opened the Selma Burke School of Sculpture.

Selma dedicated herself to teaching and making art. She would go on to create sculptures of numerous famous figures, including Duke Ellington and Martin Luther King Jr. However, her most famous work was a portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. That portrait hangs today at the Recorder of Deeds Building in Washington, D.C.

[lascitasdelashoras]

duke ellington

[citizenscreen]

Portrait of Duke Ellington at the piano for a 15-minute short subject film by Universal Pictures in which he and his band play various of his classic numbers, including “Take the ‘A’ Train”. (1950)

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Cootie Williams plays his trumpet in a crowded Harlem ballroom with Duke Ellington's band, ca. 1930.

Photo: Bettmann Archive/BuzzFeed News

[blackswaneuroparedux]

A lot of singers think all they have to do is exercise their tonsils to get ahead. They refuse to look for new ideas and new outlets, so they fall by the wayside... I'm going to try to find out the new ideas before the others do.

- Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman. New York, 1948.

[joeinct]

Duke Ellington, Photo by Gjon Mili, 1943

[surqrised]

A problem is a chance for you to do your best.

Duke Ellington

[davidhudson]

Duke Ellington, April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974.

1971 photo by Gerard Malanga.