Duke Ellington is considered one of the most influential jazz composers and pianists. To learn to sing like him, it's important to understand what made his style so unique.

One of Duke Ellington's signature vocal techniques is his use of "growling." This technique involves singing while adding a growling or raspy quality to the voice, similar to the way a trumpet or saxophone might sound. To develop this technique, Singing Carrots offers a useful resource in their Vocal Distortion & Growling article, along with a how-to video.

Ellington also had a great sense of melody, and often used unexpected intervals and harmonies to create his distinctive sound. Singers can develop their ear for melody with Singing Carrots' Pitch Accuracy Test, and can learn more about the use of intervals in melody from the Singing with Intuition, Skills, Emotion, and Thinking article.

Finally, Duke Ellington was known for his sophistication in phrasing. A great way for singers to develop their phrasing skills is to study scat singing, which involves using nonsense syllables to improvise vocal lines. Singing Carrots offers helpful vocal warm-up exercises to develop this skill, such as the Farinelli Breathing exercise and Singing Comfort Zone exercise.

In order to showcase Duke Ellington's vocal style, singers may want to study and perform one of his classic songs, such as "Take the 'A' Train." To learn more about his discography and find other songs that match your vocal range, Singing Carrots offers a song search tool and artist vocal range database.

By incorporating these resources and techniques into their practice routine, singers can learn to develop their own unique vocal style and pay tribute to the legendary Duke Ellington.