Duke Ellington

Duke Ellington was musical visionary whose first love was painting. As a child, Edward Kennedy Ellington had dreams of becoming a visual artist. Duke used his color acuity and sense of design to compose his music. He “saw” musical notes as colors. The paintings for Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra burst with color to show how robust Duke’s music is, and how his orchestrations encourage listeners to “see” the rhythms.

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Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney, 1998.

Performing Arts
Duke Ellington