Ken Steiner fell under the spell of Duke Ellington’s music when he was a junior at Georgetown University, where he heard Duke Ellington in concert on February 10, 1974, just three-and-a-half months before the Maestro’s death. He has been studying Ellington’s life and music ever since. Ken is an historian, and feels that Ellington both affected and reflected the history of his times. Ken’s pet project has been researching Ellington’s itinerary, uncovering many new events, reviews, interviews, advertisements, and photographs. As a former jazz announcer at WPFW-FM, Washington, DC, he has a special interest in the extent, content, and impact of Ellington’s radio broadcasts.
Ken has been a popular speaker at Ellington conferences: On the Air and On the Road with Duke Ellington: The Blanton/Webster Band (Stockholm, 2004); Wild Throng Dances Madly in Cellar Club: The Washingtonians in the Contemporary Press, 1923-27 (London, 2008, and updated with fresh research, 2012); Headlines: Duke Ellington’s Newly Discovered Appearance in a 1925 Silent Film (Amsterdam, 2014 and New York, 2016); The Duke is on the Air (Portland, 2015); and Just a Trombonist: Julian Priester’s Six Months with the Duke (Paris, 2023).
He has written extensive liner notes for Denmark’s Storyville Records for several CD releases: Duke Ellington Live at Carnegie Hall, Dec. 11, 1943; Duke at the Hurricane; Duke Live at Grönalund, 1963; and The Duke Ellington Treasury Shows, Volumes 15 and 20.
Ken is sharing his research to the Duke Where and When website and encourages Ellington aficionados to do the same.