Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) is an American composer, pianist, and jazz-orchestra leader.

His career spans more than 50 years: Ellington leads his orchestra from 1923 until his death.

Though widely considered to have been a pivotal figure in the history of jazz, Ellington himself embraces the phrase "beyond category" as a "liberating principle," and refers his music to the more much more general category of "American Music," rather than to a musical genre such as "jazz."

Born in Washington, D.C., he is based in New York City from the mid-1920s onwards, and gains a national profile through his orchestra's appearances at the Cotton Club.

In the 1930s they tour in Europe.

Some of the musicians who sre members of Ellington's orchestra, such as saxophonist Johnny Hodges, are still, in their own right, considered to be among the best players in jazz, but it is Ellington who melds them into the best-known jazz orchestral unit in the history of jazz.

Several members of the orchestra remain members for several decades.

A master at writing miniatures for the three-minute 78 rpm record format, Ellington often composes specifically for the style and skills of his individual musicians, such as "Jeep's Blues" for Hodges, and "Concerto for Cootie" for trumpeter Cootie Williams, which later becomes "Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me" with Bob Russell's lyrics.

Ellington originates over 1,000 compositions, often in collaboration with others; his extensive oeuvre is also the largest recorded legacy in jazz, with much of his extant work having passed into standards.

Ellington also records songs written by his bandsmen, such as Juan Tizol's "Caravan" and "Perdido" which bring the "Spanish Tinge" to big-band jazz.

After 1941, Ellington collaborates with composer-arranger-pianist Billy Strayhorn, whom he calls his "writing and arranging companion".

With Strayhorn, he composes many extended compositions, or "suites", as well as further shorter pieces.

Following an appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival in July 1956, he enjoys a major career revival and, with his orchestra, now embarks on world tours.

Ellington records for most American record companies of his era at some point, and appears in several films, scoring several, and composes stage musicals.

Due to his inventive use of the orchestra, or big band, and thanks to his eloquence and extraordinary charisma, he is generally considered to have elevated the perception of jazz to an art form on a par with other traditional genres of music.

His reputation increases after his death and the Pulitzer Prize Board bestows on him a special posthumous honor in 1999.