Q 01/05

What was Duke Ellington's real first name?

A) Edgar

B) Edward

C) Elmer

D) Ellis

Answer · why

B) Edward

Edward. He was Edward Kennedy Ellington, with a middle name from his mother Daisy's family that he later handed on to his only child.

Q 02/05

In which city was Duke Ellington born and raised?

A) Washington, D.C.

B) New York City

C) Philadelphia, PA

D) Baltimore, Maryland

Answer · why

A) Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. He built his first bands there before moving to New York in 1923, where a Harlem residency made his orchestra famous nationwide.

Q 03/05

Which saxophonist shared a 1963 album with Duke Ellington that includes a version of 'In a Sentimental Mood'?

A) Sonny Rollins

B) Stan Getz

C) John Coltrane

D) Charlie Parker

Answer · why

C) John Coltrane

John Coltrane. Then at the leading edge of modern jazz, he said he was honoured to work with Duke, who had set standards he had not caught up with yet...

Q 04/05

How did Duke Ellington get the nickname 'Duke'?

A) A promoter used it to sell concert tickets

B) Boyhood friends found his manner aristocratic

C) He claimed descent from English nobility

D) A newspaper critic coined it in a review

Answer · why

B) Boyhood friends found his manner aristocratic

Boyhood friends found his manner aristocratic. By his own account, one of them decided that any constant companion of his ought to have a title.

Q 05/05

As a boy, what was Duke Ellington more interested in than his music lessons?

A) Baseball

B) Boxing

C) Football

D) Chess

Answer · why

A) Baseball

Baseball. He recalled that President Theodore Roosevelt would sometimes ride by on his horse and stop to watch the boys play.