Duke Ellington News

Multi International award-winning Swedish singer/songwriter Viktoria Tocca, who won 14 Indie Music Channel Awards (IMCA) in 2012 and 2013, including "Artist of the Year," announced that the first single from her new all-English album currently being recorded in New York City - titled We're Still Young -- is available for purchase and streaming today on iTunes, Amazon, Google and Spotify:

Two of D.C.'s favorite jazz musicians, pianist John Eaton and bassist Tommy Cecil, will bring a 'cool' and refreshing summer concert, 'Jazz, Blues & Broadway' to The Alden for a single performance on Saturday, June 21, at 8 p.m. The duo will perform a variety of songs, while Eaton will accentuate the music with his trademark witty, astute commentary. Tickets are $27, $18 for McLean district residents. District residents can purchase tickets for $13 prior to May 21. The Alden is located at 1234 Ingleside Avenue, inside the McLean Community Center.

Below, watch Grammy Award® winners Fantasia and Wynton Marsalis chat about AFTER MIDNIGHT, the new Broadway musical celebrating the timeless music of Harlem's Golden Age.

40th Annual Jazz Record Collectors' Bash will be held the weekend of June 27th - 28th, 2014.

Jim Caruso's Cast Party will be hosting a special celebration in honor of the 2014 Tony Awards on Monday, May 19 and Monday, June 2 at 9:30PM. Come hear (or sing!) your favorite Tony winning songs along with Cast Party's fabulous regulars.

Birdland Jazz Club is pleased to announce their amazing line-up of talent for May 26 - June 1, featuring Bossabrasil with Marcos Valle and Roberto Menescal, Jim Caruso's Cast Party, Spencer Day, David Ostwald's Louis Armstrong Eternity Band, and more. Details below!

Earlier this week, the cast and creative team of the Tony Award-nominated smash hit Broadway musical After Midnight welcomed back Grammy Award-winner Fantasia Barrino as 'Special Guest Star.' Last night, Mike Tyson stopped by the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, going backstage to visit Barrino and her castmates - check out a look back below!

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its great line-up of amazing talent for the month of June 2014, featuring Freddy Cole, Stacey Kent, Ravi Coltrane Quartet, Tierney Sutton Quartet, Native Soul, Lorna Luft, Jane Monheit, Jim Caruso's Cast Party Celebrates the Tony Awards, and more!

Just last night, the Tony Award-nominated smash hit Broadway musical After Midnight, welcomed Grammy Award-winner Wynton Marsalis to the Jazz at Lincoln Center All-Stars for one night only. BroadwayWorld was there for the special night and you can check out photos below!

The Cabaret celebrates jazz history with the son of the legendary entertainer Mel Torme tonight and tomorrow, May 15 & 16 at 8:00pm. James Torme brings classic jazz to a new generation, infusing older classics with contemporary influences, and haunting newer songs with his timeless throwback renditions.

The Children's Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) and the National Jazz Museum in Harlem (NJMH) will celebrate the rich history and lasting legacy of jazz in America in their new interactive exhibit and program JAZZED! The Changing Beat of 125th Street , which opens at CMOM (212 West 83rd Street) on May 23 and runs through December 31.

Westport Country Playhouse's world premiere musical revue, "Sing for Your Shakespeare," playing June 3 - 22, will feature a six-member cast of Broadway talents: Karen Akers, Britney Coleman, Darius de Haas, Stephen DeRosa, Constantine Germanacos, and Laurie Wells. With selections from Cole Porter's "Kiss Me, Kate," Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's "West Side Story," and Rodgers and Hart's "The Boys from Syracuse," as well as numbers by Duke Ellington, Frank Loesser, and others, the production explores how the American Songbook has been inspired for decades by Shakespeare's works.

54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club presents Otis Sallid's Big Otis Jump Up Blues Revue, for one night only on Thursday, May 29th at 9:30pm. The show features the music of Big Joe Turner, Julia Lee, Duke Ellington, Joe Liggins, La Vern Baker and Nellie Lutcher. It is steeped in the tradition of speakeasy shows that became popular during the rise of the Harlem Renaissance, performed in after-hours joints all across the Midwest and East Coast.

Just last night, the cast and creative team of the Tony Award-nominated smash hit Broadway musical After Midnight, welcomed back Grammy Award-winner Fantasia Barrino as "Special Guest Star.' Fantasia Barrino returns to Broadway in the role she originated for a four-week engagement (5/13/14 - 6/8/14) leading up to the Tony Awards on June 9, 2014.

Cleveland Play House enthusiastically welcomes dance legend Maurice Hines to Cleveland in the toe-tapping extravaganza, Maurice Hines is Tappin' Thru Life. Co-produced with Alliance Theatre and Arena Stage, CPH audiences will be dazzled by this infectious production, which brings the history of American tap to life. Directed by Tony-nominee Jeff Calhoun (Newsies) and featuring contemporary tap icons The Manzari Brothers and music from the all-female big band The Diva Orchestra, Tappin' Thru Life will dance its way onto PlayhouseSquare's Allen Theatre stage for an extended run from May 30 - June 29. Special gratitude is given to CPH's generous sponsor, Zinner & Co.

Some of the talented students from Rosie's Theater Kids were invited to a performance of After Midnight currently starring Vanessa Williams and soon to welcome back Fantasia Barrino. The kids were thrilled to meet some of the cast before the dazzling, awe-inspiring show. Check out photos from the special event below!

Following a valiant 22-month struggle, Mark Flugge succumbed to major undiagnosed hearing issues and depression early Sunday morning, May 11. He expressed the hope that his music will live on, and heartfelt love to all of his many friends, family, students, and colleagues. A private service is being scheduled, with a public memorial concert in celebration of his life and music at a later date.

Four-time Grammy winner and preeminent jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves recently released her first album in five years, Beautiful Life, to rave reviews. Beautiful Life, which made its debut in February of this year, is an emotionally charged volcanic journey covering the spectrum from jazz to soul. Ms. Reeves will share her passion for this album in her one-night performance at Harris Center for the Arts in Folsom June 16.

Mercedes Ellington, the renowned dancer/director-choreographer and founder and artistic director of The Duke Ellington Center for the Arts in New York City, will be an Honored Guest and one of the featured speakers at the 22nd International Duke Ellington Study Group Conference, which will be held May 14- May 18,2014 in Amsterdam in The Netherlands. Ms. Ellington, granddaughter of the legendary American composer and musician whose more than 3,000 musical compositions make him the 20th century's most prolific composer, will discuss her relationship with 'The Duke,' as well as his growing popularity today, 40 years after his passing on May 24, 1974.

Below you can check out photos of Warren Carlyle, nominated for Best Direction of a Musical and Best Choreography for After Midnight, in the BroadwayWorld.com series 'In the Spotlight' by acclaimed photographer Walter McBride!