It is impossible to overrate the contributions and accomplishments of Duke Ellington. During 1925-74, he continuously led an exiting and unique big band. One could pick out any of those years (whether it was 1929 or 1969) and Ellington’s orchestra ranked at the top of its field. As a pianist, Ellington was a very talented stride player in the 1920s. Throughout his career he continually modernized his piano playing without losing his musical personality, still sounding modern into the 1970s. As an arranger, Ellington did not so much break the rules as largely ignore them, creating unusual tone colors from his orchestra. His big band included both primitive players and virtuoso's yet he was able to blend their wide variety of tones, styles and approaches together to create a distinctive group sound that was pure Ellingtonia. And then there were his abilities as a composer. In his life, Duke Ellington wrote somewhere between 3,000-4,000 compositions. These ranged from three-minute instrumental classics to lengthy suites (including the nearly hour-long “Black, Brown And Beige”), from moody ballads to uptempo romps. Many of his songs, when outfitted with lyrics, became standards. He had the knack for writing catchy yet unpredictable melodies that were memorable. He had so much success with his popular songs, particularly during the 1930s and ‘40s, that he was able to keep his big band together and working even during hard times due to the royalties that he received from his hits.