3. Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was born on April 29, 1899, in Washington, D.C. He began studying the piano at the age of seven. He started playing jazz as a teenager, and moved to New York City to become a bandleader. As a pianist, composer, and bandleader, Ellington was one of the creators of the big band sound, which fueled the "swing" era. He continued leading and composing for his jazz orchestra until his death in 1974.

4. Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans in 1901 and began playing the trumpet at the age of 13. Armstrong perfected the improvised jazz solo. Before Armstrong, Dixieland was the popular style of where everyone soloed at once. Armstrong developed the idea of musicians playing individual solos. This became the norm. Also known as "Pops" and "Satchmo," Louis was loved and admired throughout the world. He died in New York City on July 6, 1971.

5. Trumpeter, bandleader, and composer John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was born on October 21, 1917, in South Carolina. He got his first music lesson from his father and took off from there. He moved to New York City in 1937 to experiment with jazz, coming up with the bebop sound. Dizzy also helped to introduce Latin American rhythms to modern jazz. He is most known for his bold trumpet playing. He died in New Jersey, on January 6, 1993.

6. Billie (Eleanora) Holiday, born in 1915 in Maryland, was one of the first and greatest of American jazz singers. Holiday began singing in Harlem clubs as a teenager, and first recorded in 1933. She was nicknamed "Lady Day." After some personal tragedies and drug use, Holiday died at the age of 44 in 1959.

7. Ella Fitzgerald was born in 1917 in Virginia. She was known primarily as a jazz singer who made scat singing famous; improvisation in which the singer substitutes nonsense syllables for lyrics. In nearly sixty years of recording she was the recipient of just about every major award, including more than a dozen Grammys and a Presidential Medal of Freedom. She died in 1996 due to complications from diabetes.

8. Watch this movie clip about the history of jazz. Look closely and you will see one of the artists we talked about today. Who is it? “A Song is Born”“A Song is Born” (1948 movie)