On this day, Duke Ellington and his band began their legendary residency at the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York. This engagement catapulted Ellington to national fame, thanks in part to the club’s radio broadcasts, which introduced his music to a wide audience.
Ellington, born Edward Kennedy Ellington in Washington, D.C., had arrived in New York in the early 1920s. By 1923, he was performing with his group The Washingtonians, named after his hometown. His sophisticated style and innovative compositions helped define the Harlem Renaissance and transformed the landscape of American jazz.
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