Ella Fitzgerald News

 New Jersey Ballet returns to Mayo Performing Arts Center for three performances the weekend of May 16-17.

Linda Miller's Legendary Ladies of Music, Sunday, April 26 @ 4:30pm, Stage 72 @ The Triad, NYC Featuring Broadway Star, Patrick Jude, Emceed by Justin Hart and Vegas Dancers.

The Duke Ellington Center for the Arts (DECFA), headed by renowned dancer/choreographer Mercedes Ellington, the Duke's granddaughter, will celebrate Ellington's 116th birthday this year today, April 25, with a musical tribute to five other legendary jazz performers from 1 to 3 PM in front of the towering Duke Ellington Statue in the Plaza at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 110th Street.

The Spire Center for Performing Arts, the entertainment mecca of Plymouth, presents a eclectic season of summer entertainment at The Spire Center for Performing Arts, 25 ½ Court Street, Plymouth. 

The Duke Ellington Center for the Arts (DECFA), headed by renowned dancer/choreographer Mercedes Ellington, the Duke's granddaughter, will celebrate Ellington's 116th birthday this year on Saturday, April 25, with a musical tribute to five other legendary jazz performers from 1 to 3 PM in front of the towering Duke Ellington Statue in the Plaza at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 110th Street.

Legendary jazz composer Billy Strayhorn's music takes center stage when the Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia (JOP) plays tribute in the Perelman Theater on Saturday, May 9 at 8p.m. Presented by the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and under the artistic direction of renowned Philadelphia trumpeter Terell Stafford, the performance celebrates Strayhorn's 100th birthday with a special program including "Take the 'A' Train," "Satin Doll," and Strayhorn's most famous ballad, "Lush Life."

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College continues its 60th Anniversary Season with a concert by Grammy-winning a cappella jazz group Take 6 tonight, April 18, 2015 at 8pm.

Al Hirschfeld immortalized celebrities, politicians, Broadway productions, films, television shows and beyond with his iconic linear drawings for nine decades, establishing himself as one of the most important contemporary portrait artists. Over a decade since the legendary artist drew his final line drawing, he continues to inspire. This spring, Hirschfeld will be celebrated with the publication of a new book and a major exhibition at the New-York Historical Society.

She is known as an established actress with several appearances on Law & Order, As the World Turns, Hope & Faith and recently playing Ronni Spector with Al Pacino in David Mamets HBO Film Spector.

Villanova Theatre presents The Threepenny Opera, with book and lyrics by Bertolt Brecht, music by Kurt Weill, directed by Valerie Joyce, and on stage tonight, April 14-26, 2015. Villanova's reimagined production will feature actors playing instruments, a striking industrial aesthetic, and a timely message.

Melba Moore will cover legends at the Metropolitan Room, April 13 at 9:30pm.

"The Gospel Tradition: In Performance at the White House" showcases an evening of celebration with President and Mrs. Obama at the White House in honor of gospel music and its profound influence on American music.

EPAC is proud to once again present the Dave Stahl Big Band tonight, April 9th, at 7:30 at EPAC's Sharadin Bigler Theater! Dave Stahl draws some of the finest musicians in the world for these concert events, and this concert will be sure to satisfy any big band enthusiast.

Just in time for the 100th anniversary of the birth of Billie Holiday on April 7, 2015, Universal Music Enterprises honors the iconic artist with the simultaneous digital release of 17 classic Holiday albums.

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College continues its 60th Anniversary Season with a concert by Grammy-winning a cappella jazz group Take 6 on Saturday, April 18, 2015 at 8pm.

BAYOU CITY CONCERT MUSICALS continues its popular cabaret series with RIDIN' HIGH: Cole Porter in the 1930s, at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, May 16; 4:00 p.m., Sunday, May 17; and 7:30 p.m., Monday, May 18, 2015. The evening of song will again be presented at the Performance Centre of the Ensemble Theatre, 3535 Main between Holman and Berry Street, in the heart of Midtown. (Entrance to The Centre is located on the corner of Fannin and Berry directly behind the theatre and has convenient free parking, courtesy of Houston Community College.)

Melba Moore, a four-time Grammy nominee and winner of the 1970 Tony Award for 'Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical,' for her performance as 'Lutiebelle' in Purlie will appear at the Metropolitan Room on April 13 at 9:30 with a new show featuring songs made famous by legendary singers, including Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne, Nancy Wilson, Barbra Streisand, and Diana Ross. Joining Moore will be her special guest, actor/singer/songwriter Clifton Davis, who wrote hits for The Jackson Five. With a total of 11 top ten U.S. hits on the Billboard charts over the past 40 years, both singles and albums, Melba Moore continues into the 21st century as one of pop music's most enduring artists.

GABRIELLE STRAVELLI - the acclaimed pop/jazz vocalist called 'ingenious' by The Wall Street Journal and known from her tours with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, appearances at the 92nd Street Y and her long-running Soho jazz brunch - will join tenor saxophonist Ed Finkel as he brings a group of well-known New York jazz artists to the Heinz W. Otto Gallery at the Watchung Arts Center in Watchung, NJ tonight, March 28 at 8 PM. A dessert reception will follow the performance.

Below are April's events at the National Portrait Gallery. For more information, visit their website.

The 11th Annual Next Generation Jazz Festival Presented by Monterey Jazz Festival takes place this weekend, March 27-29, 2015, at the Monterey Conference Center. The weekend-long event includes Big Bands, Combos, Vocal Ensembles, and individual musicians vying for a spot on the stages of the 58th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival. The event will be open to the public, free of charge.