Strayhorn Birmingham

Career Trajectory

Strayhorn began his professional career in 1939 as pianist and composer-arranger for Duke Ellington's orchestra, a position he would hold with distinction for nearly three decades. Working largely behind the scenes, he composed and orchestrated a substantial portion of Ellington's output, bringing harmonic sophistication and lyrical elegance to the bandleader's visionary sound. His own compositions—"Take the 'A' Train," "Lush Life," and "Chelsea Bridge" among them—became jazz standards, establishing him as one of the twentieth century's most important composers despite his preference for anonymity over celebrity.