Remember musician Duke Ellington? His dancer granddaughter looks nothing like him
The late Duke Ellington, a composer, pianist, and the bandleader of a jazz orchestra, had a grandchild who was a dancer and doesn’t look like her famous grandfather.
In a video uploaded to thisisthebronx.info, Mercedes Ellington was portrayed talking about her late relative at the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. The video started with the interviewer, Gary Axelbank, saying that they were in front of Duke’s tomb.
After that, she started explaining who were interred next to Duke, revealing that they were the musician’s parents and his brother-in-law. Later, Mercedes confessed that Duke wasn’t the common grandfather people think.
She said that he would compose music everywhere at any time, what made him a very fun man to be around with for as long as possible.
Born #OnThisDay in 1904 was Freemason and American jazz pianist Count Basie 🎹 Basie was a member of Wisdom Lodge No. 102 in Chicago, and was just one of many famous jazz musician Freemasons, including Duke Ellington and Nat King Cole. Find out more → https://t.co/ZXMt50fFi8 pic.twitter.com/ylJqc6yeqy
— United Grand Lodge of England (@UGLE_GrandLodge) August 21, 2018
Mercedes later pointed out that, even though she had such a talented relative, she never felt the pressure of having to be involved in the music industry as she was raised by her maternal grandmother.
Happy #NationalTapDanceDay! 👞👞
— Roma Torre (@RomaTorreNYC) May 25, 2017
Celebrate with Tony Waag, Executive Director @ATDForg + Mercedes Ellington, granddaughter of Duke, on @NY1! pic.twitter.com/uLTiv9kA7X
However, Mercedes revealed that when she tried to pursue a career as a dancer, Duke and his son, Mercedes’ father, told her that she should go to college first, so she attended Julliard, one of the most prestigious music-related universities in the world.
I don’t need time. What I need is a deadline.
— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) August 20, 2018
DUKE ELLINGTON#amwriting #music #writing pic.twitter.com/gT2CrOhtwv
Mercedes admitted it was not a surprise ad Duke would send everybody to Julliard. Once she graduated from college, she started her career as a dancer which had been her actual dream.
We spent the afternoon with Mercedes Ellington hearing about Duke's life, legacy & the importance of the arts! #BHM pic.twitter.com/pFGPj7IQMT
— Manhattan College (@ManhattanEdu) February 17, 2016
WHO IS MERCEDES ELLINGTON?
She labels herself as a choreographer, director, producer, and historian who became famous after being present in the TV series “Great Performances” as well as in “So Fine.”
MERCEDES’ BOOK
During the interview, the woman revealed that her book, titled “Duke Ellington: An American Composer and Icon" was a coffee-table book, which means that there are more photos than a book has typically.
Nowadays, Mercedes is promoting her book and doing some meet-and-greets in New York.
