[Dixielandjazz] Duke Ellington to be featured on US Commemorative Quarter

[Norman Vickers]

This is a discussion list-etc.

To:  Musicians and serious Jazzfans and DJML

Mencken list and Pensacola Mencken list

Re--Ellington quarter-thanks to Cynthia Craig for forwarding this.

 

Norman Vickers

Jazz Society of Pensacola


Duke Ellington becomes first African-American on U.S. coin


*	Story Highlights 
*	The jazz legend will appear on District of Columbia commemorative
quarter
*	Coin will be introduced at Smithsonian's National Museum of American
History
*	Ellington picked over abolitionist Frederick Douglass, astronomer
Benjamin Banneker
*	He was born in the District and composed more than 3,000 songs

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Jazz legend Duke Ellington is the first African-American
to appear on an American coin, the U.S. Mint says in introducing the latest
in its line of state-themed quarters.

 

The District of Columbia commemorative quarter showing Ellington playing the
piano will be introduced by U.S. Mint Director Ed Moy at a news conference
Tuesday at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

 

Ellington won the honor by a vote of D.C. residents, beating out
abolitionist Frederick Douglass and astronomer Benjamin Banneker.

 

Also on the coin is the phrase "justice for all." The mint rejected the
first inscription choice of D.C. voters, which was "taxation without
representation," in protest of the District's lack of voting representation
in Congress.

 

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington received 13 Grammy Awards and was a pioneer
in  <http://topics.cnn.com/topics/jazz_and_blues> jazz, according to his
official Web site.

 

 <http://topics.cnn.com/topics/duke_ellington> Ellington was born in the
District and composed more than 3,000 songs, including the notable "It Don't
Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing," a song that helped usher in the
swing era of jazz.

 

Ellington performed with other famous artists, including John Coltrane,
Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, and he traveled around the world with
his orchestras.

 

He died in 1974 at age 75.

 

? 2008 Cable News Network 

 

Follow this link to see a picture of the coin:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/24/duke.ellington.coin/index.html

 

 
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