Duke Ellington News

Victoria Theatre Association (VTA) presents the popular lunchtime arts preview series Mid-Day Arts Cafe on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017 in the Mathile Theatre, located inside the Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center. February features the Central State University Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Hal Melia, performing instrumental and vocal jazz in a variety of styles. Tickets can be purchased at www.TicketCenterstage.com or by calling 937-228-3630 or 888-228-3630.

Creative Cauldron's production of BLUES IN THE NIGHT, directed by Matt Conner, spotlights a strong four-person cast that delivers 26 songs by Duke Ellington, Bessie Smith, and other early jazz legends. Backed by a live band led by Walter 'Bobby' McCoy and surrounded with a sultry set, these singers enthrall.

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its schedule for February 20-26, featuring Cyrus Chestnut Quartet, ShowBiz After Hours with Frank DiLella, Eric Comstock & Jon Burr, and more. Scroll down for details!

Quintet of the Americas woodwind ensemble will present Music and Mimosas - A Concert Celebrating Nature today, February 11 @ 1:00 PM at Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum, 895 Shore Road in Pelham Bay Park, Bronx, NY.

From the creators of Broadway's RAGTIME and SEUSSICAL, 3-D Theatricals will present the eight-time Tony nominated ONCE ON THIS ISLAND.

The nationally regarded Fulton Theatre is thrilled to announce the 2017/2018 Season which includes the Premiere Mainstage Series, The Ellen Arnold Groff Studio Series in the Tell Studio Theatre, and the Eichmann Family Series. The season will follow an unprecedented season of record-breaking productions. Next season will continue to welcome returning and new audiences to distinctive high-caliber productions that continue the Fulton tradition of "Engaging Life Through Art."

The Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) and Jazz Foundation of America will co-present Stanley Jordan on Thursday, 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.

Washington National Opera (WNO) continues its 2016-2017 season with the company premieres of two modern American masterworks of opera: Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally's Dead Man Walking, February 25-March 11, 2017 in the Opera House, and Terence Blanchard and Michael Cristofer's Champion, March 4- 18, 2017 in the Opera House. Both operas explore the theme of social justice which is often associated with John F. Kennedy and are presented as part of JFKC, the Kennedy Center's season-long celebration of President Kennedy's centennial. Using many of the same designers and scenic elements, the directors of each opera have worked collaboratively to create two distinct worlds in each new production to showcase the issues of Justice, Courage, and Freedom at the heart of these two compelling stories. An additional special event will continue the exploration of these themes: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will headline Justice at the Opera on Thursday, March 9, 2017 in the Opera House.

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its schedule for February 13-19. See all the new acts in the line up below:

Encore! Critically acclaimed New York jazz-pop stylist Richard Malavet returns with his must-see show Midnight Moods for one night only on Wednesday, March 1 at 7:00 at the Metropolitan Room. 

Music Theater Works (formerly Light Opera Works) will open its 2017 season with CANDIDE  (June 3-11), followed by GYPSY (August 19-27), DUKE ELLINGTON'S GREATEST HITS (October 6-15), and PETER PAN (December 23-January 1, 2018).

Arena Stage presents Lillian Hellman's Watch on the Rhine, winner of the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play.

As Black History Month launches, Ailey continues to inspire, enlighten and educate all people with national tours by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Ailey II, classes for aspiring dancers and the general public, and the launch of a new Arts In Education residency program for elementary school students. 

Quintet of the Americas woodwind ensemble will present Music and Mimosas - A Concert Celebrating Nature on Saturday, February 11 @ 1:00 PM at Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum, 895 Shore Road in Pelham Bay Park, Bronx, NY.

Producing Artistic Director Carolyn Griffin has announced that the 1978 Pulitzer Prize winning play The Gin Game, by D. L. Coburn, and directed by Thomas W. Jones II, will be in performance at MetroStage February 2-March 12 and feature Roz White and Doug Brown.

MusicalFare Theatre, Western New York's most awarded and only professional musical theatre company, presents the third production of its 2016-2017 Season, Duke Ellington's SOPHISTICATED LADIES, running February 1st - March 5th, 2017, directed and choreographed by John Fredo with music direction by George Caldwell.

Unison Media has announced Season 2 of its acclaimed concert series The Crypt Sessions, featuring intimate classical music and opera performances in the remarkable Crypt chapel underneath the Church of the Intercession in Harlem.

Actor, musician, activist, and humanitarian Harry Belafonte will turn 90-years-old on March 1, 2017. On this occasion, Museum of the Moving Image will celebrate his legendary career as an artist and activist-a little early-on Saturday, February 4, with a three-film retrospective and conversation with Belafonte's friend, the best-selling author Walter Mosley. The Harry Belafonte Pre-Birthday Celebration will feature screenings of The Strolling '20s, a television special produced by and starring Belafonte and featuring Sidney Poitier, Diahann Carroll, Sammy Davis, Jr. and more, that has hardly been seen in 50 years; Robert Altman's Kansas City, which features Belafonte's favorite of his own performances; and Otto Preminger's classic Carmen Jones, in which he stars opposite Dorothy Dandridge. 

True love conquers all when the State Ballet Theatre of Russia returns to the Capitol Center for the Arts (CCA) today, January 31, 2017 at 7:00PM for a free performance of the beloved fairy tale 'Cinderella.'

Pianist, composer, and bandleader, Randy Weston comes to The Nash to join Lewis Nash for an unforgettable afternoon of jazz on Sunday February 19 at 2:00 pm. The Nash is located at 110 Roosevelt St, on the corner of 1st and Roosevelt in downtown Phoenix.