Duke Ellington and his Orchestra is perhaps the greatest of all Jazz bands. The group stayed together for over fifty years and recorded and wrote some of America's greatest music. The band started in New York City under name of the Washingtonians in 1923, they then briefly became known as Duke Ellington and his Kentucky Club Orchestra, then as Duke Ellington and his Cotton Club Orchestra from 1927 to 1930. It was through weekly radio broadcasts from the Cotton Club that the orchestra gained nationwide exposure and became famous. After 1931 the band was billed as Duke Ellington and his Orchestra. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.