Duke Ellington's orchestra was the house band at the Cotton Club from December 4, 1927 until June 30, 1931. The club's wealthy clientele poured in nightly to see them, and a weekly radio broadcast gave Ellington national exposure.

A master at writing miniatures for the three-minute 78 rpm recording format, Ellington wrote more than one thousand compositions. His extensive body of work is the largest recorded personal jazz legacy, and many of his pieces have become standards.

Although widely considered a pivotal figure in the history of jazz, Ellington embraced the phrase "beyond category" as a liberating principle and referred to his music as part of the more general category of American Music.

Ellington led the orchestra from his keyboard using piano cues and visual gestures. Very rarely did he conduct using a baton.

Both of his parents were pianists. His mother primarily played parlor songs, while his father preferred operatic arias.

His first job was selling peanuts at Washington Senators baseball games.

In the summer of 1914, while working as a soda jerk at the Poodle Dog Café, Ellington wrote his first composition: "Soda Fountain Rag". He hadn't learned to read or write music yet, so he created the piece by ear. "I would play the 'Soda Fountain Rag' as a one-step, two-step, waltz, tango, and fox trot", Ellington later recalled. "Listeners never knew it was the same piece. I was established as having my own repertoire."

In 1917, he began working as a freelance sign-painter. When customers would order a sign for a dance or party, he would ask if they'd booked any musical entertainment. If not, Ellington would offer to play for the occasion.

When his drummer Sonny Greer was invited to join the Wilber Sweatman Orchestra in New York City, Ellington left his successful career in D.C. and moved to Harlem. He found an emerging jazz scene that was highly competitive and difficult to crack, so he hustled pool by day and played whatever gigs he could find at night.

In October 1926, Ellington made an agreement with agent-publisher Irving Mills, giving Mills 50% of future earnings. It was a steep price to pay, but the arrangement allowed Ellington to record prolifically as Mills arranged recording sessions on nearly every label.