Duke Ellington News

Bayou City Concert Musicals will celebrate its tenth season at the Heinen Theatre with the only Broadway show written by the legendary songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Promises, Promises. BCCM will follow up Promises, Promises with a cabaret evening of non-Broadway music of Bacharach and David in February 2017.

(New York) – July 13, 2016 – Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, recognized by U.S. Congress as “a vital American cultural ambassador to the world,” returns to the United Kingdom, Lausanne, Switzerland, and Copenhagen, Denmark to perform a dozen ballets from September 6 – October 30. Robert Battle will lead Ailey through the UK (September 9 – October 19) for the first time since becoming Artistic Director, including the Company's inaugural visits to Southampton and Canterbury, England. Presented by Dance Consortium, the UK engagement will include 10 works performed across 10 cities. The Company will then head to the Salle Métropole in Lausanne (October 22 – 23) and The Tivoli Concert Hall in Copenhagen (October 26 – 30). Bank of America is the lead sponsor of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's 2016 and 2017 international tours.

Praised as "Impeccable, "and "a confident singer…the real deal,' by Stephen Holden of the New York Times and winner of two BroadwayWorld.com Awards  (Best Show Male and  Best Male Vocalist)  Todd Murray performs his acclaimed CROON: When A Whisper Became A Song at The Triad,  158 West 72nd Street, New York, for four nights on Tuesday August 16 & 23 and Thursday August 18 and 25, at 7pm. There is a $25.00 cover charge.  Due to the high demand for this special event, advance tickets are available and highly recommended by visiting www.TriadNYC.com and calling 212-581-06-0440.  

The West Coast revival of the critically acclaimed Broadway play THE GATHERING by playwright Arje Shaw, directed by Joy Carlin, opens on Saturday July 23 at 8pm at the Live Oak Theatre in Berkeley.

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its August 2016 schedule, featuring Django Reinhardt NY Festival, Charlie Parker Birthday Celebration, Steve Kuhn Trio, Renee Rosnes, ShowBiz After Hours with Frank DiLella, Rolando Morales-Matos Sextet, Ken Peplowski Quartet, Eric Comstock and Jay Leonhart, Jim Caruso's Cast Party, and more. Scroll down for details!

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its lineup for July 25-31, including Nicholas Payton's New Afro-Caribbean Mixtape, Lesli Margherita, Bob Corwin and Rose Kingsley Celebrate Johnny Mercer, and more. Scroll down for details!

World Music Institute announces the fall and winter portion of the 2016-17 Season. In its second season under Artistic Director Par Neiburger and Executive Director Gaby Sappington, WMI will be curating a uniquely wide range of world music, from traditional and folkloric to the experimental and avant-garde.

VIVIAN REED - the two-time Tony Award-nominated Broadway star and concert artist called "remarkable and ferocious" by The New York Times and "a force of nature" by The New York Post - will return with her acclaimed concert "Standards and More" at The Metropolitan Room on Thursday,July 21 at 7:00 PM. Special guests for this show will be soprano Andrea Jones-Sojola, who appeared on Broadway in The Gershwins' Porgy & Bess, and theater and nightclub star Raun Ruffin, who appeared in The Civil War. The show was recently extended through this fall and Reed will also perform at The Metropolitan Room on September 26 and November 10, backed by a four-piece band led by Billy McDaniel. The evening includes unique arrangements of classic standards by Duke Ellington, Rodgers & Hart, Cole Porter and George Gershwin in a dazzling blend of pop, jazz, soul and R&B. A recent rave review from BroadwayWorld.com praises "the profound originality of Reed's arrangements and interpretations. Reed dives headlong into the songs and emerges with something entirely new, fresh and hers."

Downstairs Cabaret Theatre is pleased to announce 2 performances only of From Tragedy to Transcendence: Bach, Casals, and the Six Suites for Cello Solo, featuring Steven Hancoff. On the very day that Pablo Casals' father bought the 13-year old child his first cello, Casals came upon a dusty manuscript of Bach's Cello Suites in an obscure second-hand bookstore near the Barcelona docks. No one had ever actually played the Cello Suites from the time Bach composed them in 1720. Casals practiced them daily for 12 years before he had the courage to present one in public. Now world-renowned jazz guitarist Steven Hancoff brings Bach, Casals and the Six Suites for Cello Solo back to glorious life through his remarkable acoustic guitar transcriptions in this telling of the Life of Sebastian Bach, his Legacy, and the Life of Pablo Casals. Performances are Saturday, July 16 at 8:00pm and Sunday, July 17 at 2:00pm at Downstairs Cabaret at Winton Place, 3450 Winton Place, Brighton-Henrietta (convenient free parking and handicapped accessible). Tickets are $25 general admission and may be purchased in advance by calling (585) 325-4370. Discounts are available for seniors (age 60 and above), groups (10 or more), full-time students (age 22 and under), military personnel, and DCT Members. The performance runs 2 hours with one 10-minute intermission. More information is available at www.DownstairsCabaret.org and www.stevenhancoff.com.

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its schedule for July 18-24, including the Legendary Count Basie Orchestra, Lesli Margherita, Arturo O'Farrill Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, and more!

Students from the Colburn Community School of Performing Arts and the Colburn Conservatory of Music will join Michael Feinstein, founder of the Great American Songbook Foundation, for a benefit event in Zipper Hall on October 22, 2016 at 7:30 pm.

THE BLACK BOX, downtown Franklin's theater, music, and event venue, presents the renowned Kenny Hadley Big Band on Friday, July 22 at 8 p.m.

With more than half of its run at the National Arts Festival's Albany Cabaret Club done, audiences have only a few more opportunities to see Roland Perold in his charming cabaret, A GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK.

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its schedule for July 11-17, featuring Birdland Big Band Celebrates 10 Years at Birdland!, Tony Yazbeck, Jim Caruso's Cast Party, and more!

MusicalFare is very proud to announce its 2016-2017 Subscription Season of Musicals: A Season of Personalities. Between them, our five shows have won 9 Tony Awards!  The season begins with the classic American musical, GYPSY followed by the Regional Premier of TENDERLY: THE ROSEMARY CLOONEY MUSICAL, and the Duke Ellington revue, SOPHISTICATED LADIES.  The season concludes with the smash-hit, MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET and the World Premiere Musical, PRETTY/FUNNY.    Plus, patrons can enjoy all of this along with upcoming performances in our Premier Center Cabaret.

BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center, the longest operating performance venue in lower Manhattan, proudly presents Azul Dance Theatre, performing on Friday and Saturday November 11 and 12 at 7:30pm, A Musical History of the Lower East Side, performing on Friday, November 18 at 8:00pm,  Michael "Big Mike" Lynch (American Idol), performing Friday, January 6 at 8pm, Tiempo Libre performing Saturday, February 11 at 8pm, and more! We also continue to present a diverse slate of Family programming, free film retrospectives, and a variety of dance,  comedy, and special events., and more!  All 20164-2015 7 events are listed below with more information.

For Blue Note Hawaii, the state's premier venue for the world's most celebrated artists, July is heating up with music legend David Crosby, ground-breaking fusion artist, Robert Glasper, chart-topping funk and R&B singer Jeffrey Osborne and multi-platinum vocalist Joan Osborne.

Vivian Sessoms has an amazing voice, with a wide range and remarkable control.

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival has announced Amrita Ramanan as their new Director of Literary Development and Dramaturgy. She succeeds Lue Morgan Douthit, who has moved into the directorship of the Festival's Play on! program. 

Chicago Tap Theatre (CTT) honors the music of legendary rock band Queen with the one night only performance of WE WILL TAP YOU! A Tap Dance Celebration to the Music of Queen.