Duke Ellington was born in Washington. Starting from the age 7 he took music classes, and at the age of 11 he already wrote music. In 1917 he decided to become a professional musician and informally took lessons from Washington musicians. At the age of 23 he was playing in the musical quintet called the “Washingtonians" then became the director of the ensemble. After some time the ensemble turned into a big orchestra. The collective begins a long and successful tour. Duke Ellington died in New York.
