Duke Ellington News

The following acts are performing at City Winery Chicago, 1200 W. Randolph Street, throughout the month of April.

Birdland will kick-off their great week of programming with the following acts:

Birdland will kick-off their exciting month of programming with the following acts.

Lincoln Center Moments, a program for individuals with dementia and their caregivers, launches on Friday, March 17, with a performance of a Schumann piano trio featuring musicians of the New York Philharmonic. Created to bring Lincoln Center's unparalleled artistry to an intimate and supportive setting, the free performance series is designed to address the needs of the rapidly growing population affected by dementia and provide meaningful connections to the arts for an audience that may be unable to attend mainstream performances. The spring 2017 season features six performances representing genres across the Lincoln Center's campus. Participants enjoy one-hour-long chamber music, jazz, and theater performances, each followed by a one-hour, interactive workshop to share their experience with their fellow concertgoers. All programs start at 1 pm and take place at The Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, Frederick P. Rose Building, 10th floor, 165 West 65th Street, between Amsterdam and Broadway.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra announces the 2017-2018 season programming for its BNY Mellon Grand Classics and PNC Pops series. The upcoming season of the BNY Mellon Grand Classics marks its 10th season under the musical leadership of Music Director Manfred Honeck and the orchestra's 122nd year since its founding.

Piano phenomenon Elio Villafranca will bring the next generation of his popular "Letters to Mother Africa" concerts, the second in his series on the African continent's powerful influence on jazz and folk Cuban music, to Aaron Davis Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 31.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra announces the 2017-2018 season programming for its BNY Mellon Grand Classics and PNC Pops series. The upcoming season of the BNY Mellon Grand Classics marks its 10th season under the musical leadership of Music Director Manfred Honeck and the orchestra's 122nd year since its founding.

 The nationally regarded Fulton Theatre adds five performances to the existing run of In The Heights as presales break records. Added performances include Sunday, March 19 at 7:30 pm, Thursday, March 23 at 2:00 pm, Sunday, April 2 at 7:30 pm, Monday, April 3 at 7:30 pm and Tuesday, April 4 at 7:30 pm. In The Heights must close April 4.

The Western Wind vocal sextet will present Women of Notes - Women's Music, Women's Words on Saturday, March 25 at 8:00 PM in Church of St Luke in the Fields, 487 Hudson Street in Manhattan.

The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation, Verve Label Group and UMe are pleased to announce some of the major initiatives confirmed as part of this year's Ella 100 centennial celebration honoring one of the most beloved and influential vocalists of all time, Ella Fitzgerald. T

Named for alto saxophonist and jazz pioneer Charlie 'Bird' Parker who dubbed it 'The Jazz Corner of the World,' Birdland opened on December 15th 1949. For 60 years it has been home to jazz legends, from Parker, John Coltrane Duke Ellington and Count Basie to Oscar Peterson, Hank Jones, Diana Krall and everyone in between. The original 52nd street location was a cultural barometer and meeting place, inspiring the songs 'Birdland' and 'Lullaby of Birdland,' and serving as a regular haunt for celebrities and cultural figures. The modern incarnation is a state of the art nightclub featuring award winning Southern and Cajun cuisine, first rate sound and lighting and a who's who of contemporary musical artists, 7 nights a week.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, under the leadership of Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz Jason Moran, continues to celebrate the legacy of jazz artist Mary Lou Williams with the annual Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival, May 4, 2017 at 8 p.m. in the Eisenhower Theater. This year's festival will celebrate the musical legacy of vocalist, actor, and civil rights activist and NEA Jazz Master Abbey Lincoln, and features NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dianne Reeves, Esperanza Spalding, and Music Director and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington.

The Gilmore-Hoerner Endowment will present a special, one day only concert, 'A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald' featuring the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra on Sunday, April 30, 2017 at 3:00 p.m. at the Capitol Theatre in Chambersburg, PA.  Tickets for the event are $12 each, all seats reserved, are currently on sale at the Capitol Theatre at 717-263-0202 or online at www.thecapitoltheatre.org .  The Box Office is open from 11:00 A.M. - 4:30 P.M. Monday thru Friday and one hour prior to show. The theatre is located at 159 S. Main Street in Chambersburg, PA.

Musical greats Chris Vadala and Allen Vizzutti will take the stage at The Hershey Theatre with the Hershey Symphony Orchestra and Hershey Big Band on Today, March 10, 2017 at 8 p.m.

SOULSKIN Dance is proud to present a brand new work SATIN & SWING as part of their 4th Season in San Francisco. Artistic Director and Choreographer Adrianna Thompson seeks to engage audiences in a study of two eras, the 1920s and the present. Dance Mission Theatre transforms into a time machine, transporting us back to the 1920s. Glitz and glam sparkle from the dingy corners of a speakeasy. Raucous jazz blares, bringing bejeweled and sequined dancing flapper girls to life. An evening of indulgence has begun. The entry notes of Prince's 'Erotic City' ring in your ears, an echo from another time. Suddenly you notice the writing on the wall. The crash of overindulgence is imminent.

SOULSKIN Dance will present a brand new work SATIN & SWING as part of their 4th Season in San Francisco.

Ballet Chicago celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Ballet Chicago Studio Company (BCSC) with a concert program featuring a world premiere by choreographer Frank Chaves and revivals of works by George Balanchine, Ballet Chicago Founder and Artistic Director Dan Duell, and Resident Choreographer Ted Seymour. Performances are Saturday, May 6, 2017 at 2 and 7:30 p.m. at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Drive, Chicago.

The Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) and Jazz Foundation of America will co-present Stanley Jordan on Today, March 9, 2017 at 8pm at BAC's Jerome Robbins Theater. Among the most gifted guitarists of his generation, Jordan is master of the two-handed tapping technique, using the neck of the guitar like a keyboard rather than strumming or picking. Applying this astonishing technique, or "touch style" in another setting, Jordan also performs on both guitar and piano at the same time, playing chords and melodies with his hands on separate instruments and uniquely melding the two sounds into one. More than a technical phenomenon, Jordan conveys an astounding depth of musical expression through a multi-faceted solo repertoire, ranging from bold reinventions of classical masterpieces to improvisational contemporary works. At BAC, Jordan will be joined for several songs by his daughter, New York City-based singer/songwriter Julia Jordan.

John Pizzarelli returns to Cafe Carlyle with an all-new show celebrating iconic singer-songwriter Johnny Mercer, April 25 - May 6. The New York Times recently described John Pizzarelli and his wife Jessica Molaskey as "the supreme nightclub act of our time." Specifically, Jazz Weekly recently raved about John Pizzarelli's Johnny Mercer program: "A gig like this oozes with style, class and fun, with Pizzarelli being one of the best ambassadors for the Great American Songbook. One of his best."At the Cafe, he'll perform Johnny's most recognizable hits as well as lesser-known gems such as "Jamboree Jones" and "Slue Foot."

Bryan Cumming, a jazz-Americana artist who has recorded with popular acts such as Al Jarreau and The Pointer Sisters, has released a new CD that pays tribute to the classic songs and legendary jazz artists of the Silent Generation.