Duke Ellington exposes bottom (4)
I believe the answer is:
keel
'bottom' is the definition.
(I have seen 'Bottom of boat ' mean 'keel' so perhaps 'bottom' could also mean 'keel')
'duke ellington exposes' is the wordplay.
'exposes' indicates a hidden word.
'KEEL' is hidden within 'duke ellington'.
(Other definitions for keel that I've seen before include "Part of ship's hull" , "Ship (poet.); its bottom" , "Long timber" , "Cool, or it used to be" , "Fore-and-aft base to a ship's hull" .)