The Cotton Club was decorated with southern and African motifs, and the whole experience was intended to give its patrons a respite, however brief, from the cares of the day. The chief exponents of the jungle-music style were Bubber Miley and Tricky Sam Nanton, with their growling brass. Barney Bigard's mysterious-sounding clarinet could suggest the jungle, as could Ellington's exotic chord progressions. Ellington's opportunity to experiment and find his own way bore delectable fruit.

By now Ellington was breaking rules as a composer, evolving his orchestra's unique sound, and pushing against various kinds of limits. Upon joining the orchestra, Barney Bigard thought Ellington composed with "weird" chords. Ellington was, in fact, rewriting the rules of harmony and developing his own harmonic language.