Ellington

American  

[el-ing-tuhn] / ˈɛl ɪŋ tən /

noun

1. Edward Kennedy Duke, 1899–1974, U.S. jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and conductor.

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Ellington British  

/ ˈɛlɪŋtən /

noun

1. Duke, nickname of Edward Kennedy Ellington. 1899–1974, US jazz composer, pianist, and conductor, famous for such works as "Mood Indigo" and "Creole Love Call"

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Example Sentences

The Great Depression spawned mass unemployment and economic hardship, but it was also the era of Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington, William Faulkner and John Steinbeck, “Gone With the Wind” and “The Wizard of Oz.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 21, 2026

As the liner notes explain, Dylan is the third-most popular covered songwriter ever, outranked only by The Beatles and Duke Ellington.

From Salon • Feb. 24, 2026

Bridgewater: I’m here in town at Birdland with Bill Charlap and we are doing songs from the American Songbook primarily and Duke Ellington.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 29, 2026

There’s Dexter Gordon, son of a Black doctor who treated Duke Ellington whenever he was in L.A.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 28, 2026

They capped off their tour of New York that evening with a trip to Loew’s State Theatre, where Duke Ellington and his orchestra were finishing up a weeklong engagement.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown