Duke was raised by two musical parents and at the age of 7, he studied how to play piano. Duke had a job once as a soda jerk, later he wrote his very first composition, "Soda Fountain Rag" at age 15. Ellington followed his dream of becoming a professional and he was at age 17. In the 1920's range, Duke performed in some Broadway nightclubs and the he was the leader of a band and sextet. A sextet is a group of six people playing music or singing together. Ellington was quoted for saying "You've got to find a way to say it, without saying it" I'm still thinking how you do that. He got good enough that he got to tour Europe!