Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 - May 24, 1974), born and raised in Washington, DC, was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra. Ellington was based in New York City from the mid-1920s and gained a national profile through his orchestra's appearances at the Cotton Club in Harlem. Ellington wrote or collaborated on more than one thousand compositions. Music critic Ralph J. Gleason called him "America's most important composer." The following audio clips include tv interviews from 1963, 1968, and 1971.