How Duke Ellington Became a DC Jazz Legend

Duke Ellington is undoubtedly one of D.C.’s biggest musical icons. The famous jazz musician became the heartbeat of Black Broadway in the early 1900s, laying the groundwork for D.C.’s vibrant and unique music scene.

Growing Up In DC

Duke Ellington was born in 1899, in what is now West End. His family moved to LeDroit Park while he was still young.

While he began piano lessons at a young age, his primary interest was baseball! Ellington spent summers selling peanuts at Washington Senators games. As a teenager, he wrote his first composition, “Soda Fountain Rag,” inspired by his job at the soda counter at the Poodle Dog Cafe on Georgia Ave. At 16 years old, Ellington gave up a scholarship at Armstrong High School to play music full-time and began taking private lessons from Henry Lee Grant, a Dunbar High School teacher.

Becoming a Washington Icon

Ellington’s first show was on the second floor of the True Reformer Hall on U St. NW, now home to the Public Welfare Foundation. Ellington continued to play up and down U St. NW and by his 20s, his band, Duke’s Serenaders, was a fixture in the D.C. music scene.

Like any great jazz musician at the time, Ellington moved to Harlem and started a band called The Washingtonians. Throughout the years, he would return to play in D.C., including at the reopening of Howard Theatre in the early 30s.

Lasting Impact

Ellington nurtured his connection with his hometown until his death in 1974. He would often visit and stay at the Whitelaw Hotel, Washington’s first Black-owned hotel. Today, his influence is still felt throughout the District. Duke Ellington School of the Arts educates some of the area’s brightest young creatives and Duke Ellington bridges the gap between Adams Morgan and Woodley Park.

DC’s Growing Music Scene

Of course, as much as we love jazz here in the District, it’s not all our music scene has to offer.