Illustrator: Brian Pinkney
Duke Ellington is a famous jazz musician credited with creating a unique musical sound. Andrea and Brian Pinkney bring him to life in their biography for children, Duke Ellington. Duke was ahead of his time, playing at renowned venues such as the Cotton Club in Harlem and Carnegie Hall in New York City. I enjoyed this story, but I was a bit distressed by the informal tone that the writers used. No doubt, the book gives excellent biographical information about Ellington, but readers who are unfamiliar with musical terms will feel lost. I liked the rich illustrations and their almost magical appearances. This book will definitely take the reader back in time to 1920s America and the struggles that Black musicians faced. I was pleased to see a bibliography at the end of the book, as well as other resources that the reader can look at. Overall, this is a good biographical account of Duke Ellington, a forerunner in American jazz music.
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