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Duke Ellington

4/29/1899 - 5/24/1974
Taurus

Last Words

"Music is how I live, why I live and how I will be remembered."

Death & Legacy

Duke Ellington, the bandleader, composer and pianist, died yesterday of cancer in New York Hospital. He was 75 years old. For more than 50 years Mr. Ellington led a band that was variously a five‐piece combo and a full‐blown orchestra. His music, which he always called “American music” rather than jazz, was in a class by itself. It was characterized by extraordinary rhythmic complexity, subtlety of mood, a wide range of tonal color and a wealth of melody.

Read full obituary from The New York Times

Details

Cause of Death
Lung cancer and pneumonia
Age at Death
75 years
Funeral Location
Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City, U.S.
Final Resting Place
Woodlawn Cemetery, The Bronx, New York City, U.S.