Duke Ellington News

In the coming weeks, 54 Below revisits some of our favorite Broadway productions with concert events celebrating beloved scores as well as reunions bringing together original company members.

Celebrate this Valentine's Day weekend WITH LOVE FROM DEEDS AND DIVA - a very special three-night engagement where two-time Grammy winning legendary jazz vocalist Diane Schuur takes to the stage with New York's own magnetic tour-de-force Diva Jazz Orchestra, led by the extraordinary talented drummer Dr. Sherrie Maricle.

The Chicago Philharmonic Chamber Players (cp2) begin their Spring 2015 series at City Winery (1200 W Randolph, Chicago, IL 60607) on Sunday, March 8 at noon.

The Xoregos Performing Company is proud to present Harlem Remembered: A Tribute to the Harlem Renaissance, a series of free performances throughout Black History Month spotlighting the drama, music and poetry of the Harlem Renaissance, at various venues in New York City and Westchester and Orange counties. The program features theatrical events as well as music, dance, storytelling and poetry. BroadwayWorld has a look at the cast below!

Rutgers University is now seeking a new executive director to promote the university's jazz program.

The final performances of 'Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine,' Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage's social satire, and a jazz concert that celebrates the music of Duke Ellington and Count Basie, are just two of the Evanston campus events at Northwestern University celebrating Black History Month.

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its schedule for February 16 - February 22, including the Billy Childs Jazz Quartet, Barbara Carroll, Jazz Party with Natalie Douglas, and more. Details below!

The Muny announced today its 2015 production of Oklahoma! will feature the Laurence Olivier Award-winning and Tony Award® nominated choreography of Susan Stroman. The Muny is honored to be the first theater in the world to recreate this extraordinary choreography, last seen in 2004. The Muny production will be directed by Rob Ruggiero, with music direction by Kevin Stites. Ms. Stroman's work will be recreated by Ginger 'Rodgers & Hammerstein's score is everything you dream a musical should be,' said Susan Stroman.

The unparalleled Grammy Award-winning artist Roberta Flack brings her sterling voice to Pepperdine University's Smothers Theatre tonight, February 6 at 8 p.m.

Miller Theatre at Columbia University School of the Arts presents the 2014-15 Jazz series finale: AARON DIEHL QUARTET featuring Aaron Diehl, piano, Peter Washington, bass, Pete Van Nostrand, drums, and Warren Wolf, vibes. Saturday, March 7, 2015, 8:00 p.m. at the Miller Theatre at Columbia University (2960 Broadway at 116th Street)

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) celebrates its 10thanniversary as a founding partner and resident orchestra at the Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda, Md. with a concert and pre-concert gala event tonight, February 5, 2015, 10 years to the day after the venue's opening concert that featured legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma, then-Music Director Yuri Temirkanov and the BSO.

One of the most influential figures in jazz, if not all American music, Duke Ellington produced an astoundingly rich body of music. His band still tours to this day and will perform at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, February 9 at 8pm.

Phoenix -- Arizona Musicfest, the premier Winter Music Festival, kicks off today, January 29 and will run throughout the month of February, concluding March 5th.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, beloved as one of the world's most popular dance companies, will share its inspiring artistry with Tri-state audiences at the Aronoff Center's Procter & Gamble Hall for two nights only, March 3-4, 2015 at 7:30pm. The much-anticipated dance event is part of the Cincinnati Arts Association's 2014-15 Season.

Elio Villafranca brings an all-star band with special guest Jon Faddis into The Appel Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center on February 20-21 for the world premiere of 'Cinque - Music of the Caribbean.'

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its lineup for the week of February 2 - 8, including John Pizzarelli Quartet, The Noah Haidu Quartet, Jazz Party with Joelle Lurie, and more. Details below!

Broadway's 40 theatres aren't the only places to catch performances from your favorite stars! Well after Broadway orchestra's begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven- o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you some cabaret highlights for this week as picked by our theatre editors, including: The Cast of IF/THEN Sings Kitt & Yorkey; David Michael Finkelstein's Bar Mitzvah: The Musical Comedy In Concert; Josh Canfield & Reed Kelly: From Broadway to Survivor; Ellyn Marie Marsh: INNAPPROPRIATE; and T Oliver Reid: Drop Me Off at Harlem.

In the second installment of the Columbus Symphony's American Roots Festival, guest bass-baritone Kevin Deas returns to perform some of George Gershwin's greatest music including extensive selections from his glorious opera Porgy and Bess, including “Summertime,” “It Ain't Necessarily So,” “Bess,” and “You Is My Woman Now.” Gershwin's brilliant and bluesy Piano Concerto and an orchestral suite by jazz legend Duke Ellington paying tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. completes the bill. Led by guest conductor John DeMain, the program will also feature guest pianist Xiayin Wang, soprano Jonita Lattimore, and the Columbus Symphony Chorus.

N. Bethesda, Md. (January 23, 2015) —The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) celebrates its 10thanniversary as a founding partner and resident orchestra at the Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda, Md. with a concert and pre-concert gala event on Thursday, February 5, 2015, 10 years to the day after the venue's opening concert that featured legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma, then-Music Director Yuri Temirkanov and the BSO. The Music Center at Strathmore serves as the BSO's second home, where it hosts 46 concerts annually for more than 60,000 patrons, making the BSO the only orchestra in the nation that performs year-round in two major metropolitan markets. The inaugural gala at Strathmore will benefit the BSO's growing education and community outreach efforts in Montgomery County Public Schools.

Good Noise Vancouver Gospel Choir presents its highly-anticipated annual gospel music workshop and concert Hallelujah Praise: Motown Meets Gospel - at Ryerson United Church (2195 W. 45th Avenue, Vancouver), February 28 - March 1, 2015.