Duke Ellington News

On Saturday, March 28, 2020 at 8:00pm, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and The Classical Theatre of Harlem perform the world premiere of A Harlem Dream as part of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Washington Performing Arts' SHIFT: A Festival Of American Orchestras. The festival is a weeklong celebration of the vitality, identity, and extraordinary artistry of North American orchestras through an immersive festival experience in the nation's capital, taking place in Washington, D.C. from March 23-29, 2020.

The Feinstein's/54 Below Staff Show recently showed off the performing talents of the nightclub's employees and the audience couldn't have been more glad they came out.

Artists appearing at Birdland Jazz Club include John Pizzarelli (The Swing 7 and Quartet), Steve Ross, Erena Terakubo and Nana Quintet, Leanne Borghesi & Marta Sanders, Constantine Maroulis, Michelle Lordi and David Berger Orchestra.

The Grammy-nominated Western Wind Vocal Sextet will present 'Of Dreams, Desires & Dragons: Music by Women from Hildegarde to Joni Mitchell' on Saturday, March 28 at 8:00 PM at Church of St. Luke in the Field, 487 Hudson Street, NYC (West Village).  The concert celebrates Women's History Month with a rich assortment of music by classical and modern women composers.

American Symphony Orchestra culminates its 2019-20 Vanguard series on March 12 with a tribute to the genre-defying genius of the great Duke Ellington on the stage of Carnegie Hall, where the composer played a series of annual concerts and premiered many of his greatest works, including Black, Brown, and Beige and New World A-Comin'.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts doubleheader evening of two performances by multi-Grammy Award-winning jazz vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant and the esteemed Aaron Diehl Trio on March 28, 2020. Performances will be at 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. in Samueli Theater. Since winning the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition in 2010, Salvant has evolved into one of today's most prescient forces in jazz She opens the evening with a fearless approach to art that transcends the conventional. Said Rolling Stone, 'Salvant is regularly and rightly considered one of the greatest jazz singers of her generation, but that label sells her short.' She is joined by her musical director and jazz piano virtuoso Aaron Diehl at the helm of his trio who then take Center stage as one of the preeminent interpreters of the Great American songbook.

February is Black History month celebrating the richness of African American culture. Michelle Johnson, known as the Las Vegas First Lady of Jazz, will present Sankofa: a Celebration Concert of African American Music and History at Myron's Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center Feb. 23.

The Kennedy Center, BONDVISION Media, and BLACK GIRLS ROCK! collaborate to co-produce the second annual BLACK GIRLS ROCK! Festival (BGR!FEST), an immersive multi-day live experience curated to celebrate the cultural contributions of Black women artists, thought leaders, and creatives. The festival, spanning four days, will take place during International Women's Day weekend, March 5-8 across the Kennedy Center campus.

The Kennedy Center, BONDVISION Media, and BLACK GIRLS ROCK! collaborate to co-produce the second annual BLACK GIRLS ROCK! Festival (BGR!FEST), an immersive multi-day live experience curated to celebrate the cultural contributions of Black women artists, thought leaders, and creatives. The festival, spanning four days, will take place during International Women's Day weekend, March 5-8 across the Kennedy Center campus.

Studio Theatre is one of eight theatres across the country, and the only arts organization in Washington, DC, to receive an 18-month capacity building grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation's (DDCF) Building Demand for the Arts program, the Foundation announced this week. The program funds artists and arts institutions working to forge long-lasting relationships with diverse audiences.

Jazz at Lincoln Center today announced the 18 finalists who will compete in its 25th Annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festivala?"the nation's premier jazz education eventa?"on May 7-9, 2020. To commemorate the 25th anniversary of Essentially Ellington, Jazz at Lincoln Center has invited an unprecedented number of the country's top high school jazz bands to compete for top honors in New York City.

The New York Youth Symphony (NYYS) continues its 2019-2020 season with a performance by the 17-member NYYS Jazz ensemble on Monday, March 9, 2020 in two sets at 7:30pm and 9:30pm, at Dizzy's Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center, led by Director Andy Clausen. Titled Celebrating Charlie Parker @ 100, and featuring saxophonist Steve Wilson, the performances pay homage to Charlie Parker's centennial, musical legacy, and bebop innovations with selections by Parker, Wilson, Bennie Moten, Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, and more. NYYS Jazz will also give the world premiere of the NYYS First Music commission In the Shadow of Tall Giants by Devin Reilly.

The B.B. King Blues Band are thrilled to announce their new partnership with The B.B. King Estate. This joint venture now finds the two forces working together to bring the world The B.B. King Experience, the band's new working name. In addition to the upcoming world tour (dates listed below), the single 'Rock Me Baby' featuring George Benson, Tito Jackson and Claudette King will be released this summer.

Ebony Repertory Theatre (ERT) and the family of Paula Kelly announced today that Emmy-nominated actress, dancer, choreographer and singer, Paula Kelly died on Saturday, February 8, 2020 in Whittier, California from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. She was 77.

Artistic Director Mark Clements and Executive Director Chad Bauman are thrilled to announce Milwaukee Repertory Theater's 2020/21 Season with 15 productions across four venues in the Patty & Jay Baker Theater Complex. 

Pianist and vocalist Jay Daniels is proud to announce his New York City debut performance a?oeAn Evening in New York with Jay Daniels Trioa?? on Friday, March 20 20 at the Triad Theater located at 158 West 72nd Street in New York. The show will begin at 9:30PM. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased here. 

Washington National Opera's (WNO) 2020-2021 season offers an ambitious mix of sweeping political epics and intimate stories of interpersonal relationships, centered on human pursuits of justice, power, and love. Led by General Director Timothy O'Leary and Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, WNO announces the six mainstage titles in the 2020-2021 season: Fidelio, Nixon in China, Boris Godunov, Rigoletto, Così fan tutte, and La bohème.

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that Paula Kelly, actress of stage and screen, has died. She was 76. Kelly made her Broadway debut as Mrs. Veloz in the 1964 musical Something More!, alongside Barbara Cook. Her other Broadway credits include The Dozens (1969), Paul Sills' Story Theatre (1971), Ovid's Metamorphoses (1971), and Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies (1981).

Michael Feinsteina?"one of today's greatest promoters and presenters of the Great American Songbook, and a McCallum Theatre favoritea?"is returning for a special evening of songs made famous by Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Judy Garland, Peggy Lee and others, at 8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 28. From recordings that have earned him five Grammy Award nominations to his Emmy-nominated PBS specials, his acclaimed NPR series and concerts spanning the globea?"in addition to his appearances at iconic venues such as the White House, Buckingham Palace, Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall and Sydney Opera Housea?"his work as an educator and archivist defines Feinstein as one of the most important musical forces of our time.