Duke Ellington News

Two world premieres, one by the “Lion King,” Tony Award-winning choreographer Garth Fagan and the other by Fagan's muse, rehearsal director and “Bessie Award” winner Norwood Pennewell, are among the highlights of Garth Fagan Dance's 45th anniversary celebration that takes place at The Joyce Theater, November 3-8.

As a part of the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University's citywide festival celebrating the life and music of Billy Strayhorn, Chicago Human Rhythm Project (CHRP) presents an evening of music, song and dance marking his close association with Duke Ellington, the Duke Ellington Orchestra and Harlem's famous tap collective the Copasetics November 1 at 7:30 p.m. at the Jazz Showcase.

The Jazz Foundation of America's 'Lifetime Achievement Award' to Sonny Rollins featuring performances by Donald Fagen (of Steely Dan),Jimmy Heath, Jack DeJohnette, Gary Bartz, Billy Harper, Randy Brecker, Clifton Anderson, Alex Blake, Kenny Garrett, Ravi Coltrane,Buster Williams, Al Foster, James Carter, Bob Cranshaw, Cecil Bridgewater Big Band, and more.

Fulton Theatre congratulates Heidi Kettenring for receiving the award for Best Actress in a Principal Role - Musical, at the gala 47th Annual Jeff Awards held at Drury Lane Theatre, Oakbrook, IL, on Monday, October 5, 2015, for her role as Anna in THE KING AND I at Marriott Theatre. 

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its lineup for October 19-25, featuring Tierney Sutton, Iris Williams, Birdland Jazz Party, and more. Scroll down for details!

Cafe Carlyle is pleased to welcome back acclaimed husband-and-wife duo John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey for a four-week engagement, November 3-28. They'll make their annual fall pilgrimage to The Carlyle with an all-new show entitled My Generation. My Generation features selections from Mitchell to McCartney, Simon to Sondheim. Additionally, they'll be performing tracks from John's acclaimed new album, Midnight McCartney.

With his well-received 2013 debut 'Completely,' keyboardist/composer Michael Gallant emerged as a stylistically omnivorous musical force, 'an artist unafraid and bending the tradition,' in the words of one critic. Gallant continues to explore his disruptive musical proclivities on his sophomore release, 'Live Plus One,' due out today, October 9, from his Gallant Music label.

Tonight, October 9, noted orchestrator and conductor Fred Barton will bring the music of Broadway and the American Songbook to the Schimmel Center at Pace University, in American Showstoppers: An Evening of Johnny Mercer. In his seventh concert at Pace, Fred Barton now brings the power of Mercer's music and lyrics front and center, with a 14-piece orchestra and a cast of 16 Broadway singers and dancers, with direction and choreography by Scott Thompson. The cast is headlined by Damon Kirsch, Tony nominee Lee Roy Reams, two time Tony nominee Vivian Reed, Nick Spangler, Tony Nominee Lauren Worsham, and Tony Award winner Karen Ziemba. The cast also features Jesse Luttrell, Sean McGibbon and Molly Pope.

Four outstanding works by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, one of the world's leading modern dance companies, will come to the big screen on Thursday, October 22 at 7:00 pm (local time) as the second installment of Lincoln Center at the Movies: Great American Dance.

Set to Duke Ellington's jazz arrangement of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker suite, Act 1 opens on a hoppin' holiday party in a New York City Brownstone at the height of the roaring 20's. At the party, Clara receives a nutcracker doll from her mysterious aunt Drossa Myer. Little does she know that the Nutcracker has a magical spell cast upon it. Later that night the Nutcracker tethers a magical snowstorm that carries Clara on a magical adventure to the 1922 World's Fair in Rio De Janiero. In Act 2, the world's fair, New York City's top cultural dance companies will perform.

On the heels of a successful run of their first cabaret act, Look Who's in Love, distinguished entertainers Christine Reisner-Rebic (an international cabaret chanteuse and dancer) and Don Rebic (Broadway and cabaret musical director, jazz pianist and composer) took their cabaret act into the recording studio. "Lucky in Love" features timeless standards as well as four songs of their own: "You're Making Me Nervous," "Two Heads Are Better Than One," "Leap of Faith" and the title track, "Lucky in Love."

AIR FRANCE presents DJANGO FESTIVAL ALLSTARS 'Back from France -- on the road again with major tour' In NY at Birdland Nov. 17 - 22 DJANGO REINHARDT NY FESTIVAL Starring: DORADO & AMATI SCHMITT LUDOVIC BEIER, PIERRE BLANCHARD and Dou Dou Cuillerier - From France.

Good Morning America news anchor and music fan Ron Claiborne will host a gala evening honoring vocalese original Jon Hendricks once dubbed the 'James Joyce of Jazz' by Time magazine, and producer Cobi Narita who founded and led both the Universal Jazz Coalition and New York Women's Jazz Festival for several decades.

For two weeks in December, the Lovelace Studio Theatre at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts will be transformed into the intimate nightclub world of Cabaret. This brand-new series will bring some of today's most heralded cabaret acts today to The Wallis for the first time including Amanda McBroom, Christine Andreas, Alice Ripley, Freda Payne, Melissa Manchester, Ute Lemper and Jeff Goldblum.

The Broadway at Birdland concert series is proud to announce that NY1 theater journalist Frank DiLella will bring his newest creation, a talk show, to the historic Birdland stage.

GABRIELLE STRAVELLI - the celebrated pop/jazz vocalist and songwriter called an "outstanding singer" by The Wall Street Journal and "hotter than the equator" by The Village Voice - has released the new single that is currently available on iTunes here, a passionate reworking of the Cole Porter classic "Dream Dancing." The track, a selection from her upcoming album If Only Love, has an arrangement by Pat O'Leary and features Art Hirahara on piano, Pat O'Leary on bass and Eric Halvorson on drums. "Dream Dancing" is produced by David Cook (Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson, Marianne Faithfull) with cover photography by Shervin Lainez (St. Vincent, Cat Power, Ellie Goulding).

Herbert Kretzmer, the former London theatre critic who went on to write the lyrics for LES MISERABLES, the longest running and most successful musical in the world, will celebrate his 90 th birthday on October 5th.

World-renowned artists Mika (marimba) and Richard Stoltzman (clarinet) return to Carnegie Hall on November 5, 2015, to showcase their amazing versatility and crossover ability in a one-night only concert event. The program includes works by Chick Corea, John Zorn, Toru Takemitsu, Bach, Ravel, and Stravinsky, as well as the world premiere of William T. McKinley's 22-movement Mostly Blues for Clarinet and Marimba. Joining the duo on stage are guest artists Eddie Gomez (bass), Adam Albert (clarinet), John Hamann (bass clarinetist), and Miki Orihara (principal dancer of the Martha Graham Dance Company).