Billy Strayhorn News

'MY SHIP is built up of songs composed and published in 1941. 76 years ago these songs were comforting the hearts and minds of women from that time: young brides married to soldiers headed off to fight in WW2, conventional house wives raising children alone, factory workers like Rosie the Riveter, and the entertainers passionately at work to raise the moral of AMERICA through this beautiful music.'

In what is now a tradition, the acclaimed Art of Time Ensemble presents its popular holiday concert, To All a Good Night 3, at Harbourfront Centre Theatre from December 14 - December 16. The third annual edition of the show includes wintery tunes, holiday songs, fresh new material, extraordinary musicianship and lots of surprises for audiences with a broader range of styles than at any other seasonal concert.

SPANGLISH FLY, the critically acclaimed 11-piece Latin boogaloo group, has confirmed details on their upcoming album Ay Que Boogaloo!, due out February 16th on Chaco World Music, the label founded by Latin Grammy nominated producer and composer Chaco (Manuel Garcia Orozco). In his liner notes, Bobby Sanabria calls the record 'a combination of great musicianship, clever songwriting, and slick arranging. And guess what Pilgrims? You can dance to it too!'

On November 17, 2017, the Auditorium Theatre and popular Chicago vocalist Joan Curto celebrate the legacies and centennials of vocal icons Ella Fitzgerald and Lena Horne with Ella & Lena: The Ladies and Their Music, an evening created and directed by Curto.

For 28 years, Chicago Human Rhythm Project (CHRP) has exposed young participants and scholarship students to the teaching and experience of masters in the field like Savion Glover, Jimmy Slyde, Dianne 'Lady Di' Walker and more. CHRP alumni include many of the world's leading tap dance performers, choreographers and directors - making their mark around the world and Chicago.

Urban Stages announces the line-up for this year's award-winning series, WINTER RHYTHMS 2017, which will begin Tuesday, December 12 and will feature some of New York's best musical performances through Saturday, December 23, 2017 at Urban Stages Theatre (259 West 30th Street, just East of 8th Avenue).

There have been many 100 year birthday celebrations of singers this year and one of the best was Vivian Reed Sings Lena Horne at Feinstein's/54 Below last night.

Vivian Reed, the two-time Tony Award-nominated Broadway star and concert artist, will honor entertainment icon Lena Horne in a special centennial celebration at Feinstein's / 54 Below.

Reservoir announces a new deal with multi-Platinum and Grammy-nominated songwriter Ali Tamposi. The company has represented Tamposi since January of this year and will continue to publish Tamposi's hit-driven catalog, including her latest smash collaboration Wolves

Reservoir announces the signing of electronic duo DVBBS to a worldwide publishing deal. The deal includes global rights to compositions in DVBBS' catalog, plus future works, including the new album, Blood Of My Blood, which released last Friday and has already racked up over 17 million streams on Spotify.

Reservoir/Reverb Music announces the signing of award-winning songwriter, producer, and remixer Mich Hansen, pka Cutfather, to a worldwide publishing deal. The deal includes titles from Cutfather's prolific catalog, plus future works.

For his follow-up to 2016's purely improvised studio recording Strength & Power (featuring pianist Jamie Saft, bassist Trevor Dunn and drummer Balazs Pandi), the ever-adventurous trombonist-composer Roswell Rudd made a decided shift in direction on his first RareNoiseRecords release as a leader by embracing jazz standards he has loved and played throughout his long and illustrious career.

Classical, jazz and dance combine when the Music Institute of Chicago collaborates with Dance Chicago to present a family concert, Duke It Out!, Saturday, December 9 at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Ave., Evanston.

On November 17, 2017, the Auditorium Theatre and popular Chicago vocalist Joan Curto celebrate the legacies and centennials of vocal icons Ella Fitzgerald and Lena Horne with Ella & Lena: The Ladies and Their Music, an evening created and directed by Curto.

Table Pounding Music presents the USA Album Launch Concert & Celebration of Tagg-Petersen Duo's Where Worlds Collide tonight, October 2nd, 2017 at Yamaha Artist Salon in Midtown Manhattan. Come early for a South African wine reception at 6:30pm; concert from 7-8pm.

After celebrating its record-breaking 85th Anniversary Season, Jacob's Pillow announces new, expanded fall, winter, and spring programming as a main component of Vision '22, a strategic approach to the Pillow's transformation into a year-round center for dance research and development and a civic partner in our region.

Vivian Reed, the two-time Tony Award-nominated Broadway star and concert artist, will honor entertainment icon Lena Horne in a special centennial celebration at Feinstein's / 54 Below.

Reservoir announces the acquisitions of the historic catalogs of soul legends Willie Mitchell, Leon Ware, Norman Harris, and the Commodores' Walter Orange and Thomas McClary. Collectively, the five deals bring over 1,000 genre defining songs to Reservoir's diverse and expanding catalog.

Midtown Direct Rep (MDR) launches its 2017-18 reading series, Theater at The Woodland, with a free presentation of SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR, a new play with music, written by Rob Zellers, directed by Billy Porter, with music supervision by Zane Mark and musical direction by Darryl Ivey. 

59E59 Theaters welcomes 59E59 favorites Peter & Will Anderson with SONGBOOK SUMMIT, featuring the music of Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, George Gershwin and Richard Rodgers. Produced by Reardon-Anderson Music and featuring jazz vocalist Molly Ryan, SONGBOOK SUMMIT begins performances tonight, August 2, for a limited engagement through Sunday, August 27.