Duke Ellington News

The Duke Ellington Center Big Band and the Bobby Sinabria Multiverse Big Band will perform a joint concert at the Lovinger Theatre at Lehman College in the Bronx on Friday, June 8, at 7:30 PM, featuring some of Duke Ellington's iconic works, as well as those of his greatest collaborators. (more...)

ItÂ’s officially summer come June and this summer season promises to be an active one at the Frist Center. Next month kicks off with the opening of Metamorphoses: Drawings by Erin Anfinson, Kristi Hargrove, Mark Hosford, and Chris Scarborough in the Conte Community Arts Gallery, and is shortly followed by the opening of Constable: Oil Sketches from the Victoria and Albert Museum on June 22. The Frist has collaborated with Watkins College on an quilting workshop with edgy quilter Ben Venom and the second installment of Frist Fridays on June 29th features Sam Bush with special guest Lera Lynn. (more...)

Baltimore welcomes E. Faye Butler in her all-new act, "What a Difference a Diva Makes". (more...)

The Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, and Jazz at Lincoln Center invite you to the Tribute to Phoebe Jacobs, in memoriam. The event will be held at Rose Theater, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center on Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 1 p.m. There will be no printed tickets for this event. Doors will open at 12:30pm, and attendees will be seated on a first come, first served basis. (more...)

Highline Ballroom has announced its upcoming shows, May 21-June 4, 2012. See below for the full schedule. (more...)

earMUSIC, the Hamburg based rock label which is part of Edel Group, announces the July 23rd UK release of “The Duke” – Joe Jackson’s tribute to American jazz icon Duke Ellington. The album will be released on CD, digital download and 12” vinyl. “Ellington didn't consider his own arrangements to be sacred," says Jackson. "He constantly reworked them, sometimes quite radically. I think my approach is in the spirit of the man himself.” (more...)

Local actor and singer Jerome Elliott will debut his latest cabaret one man show - Sweet Nerd Of Youth, his sixth show in the last four years, on Sunday, May 27, 2012 at the Arthur Newman Theatre in Palm Desert as part of the Sundays In Summer Series presented by Les Michaels' Life Is A Cabaret. (more...)

The 38th Annual Jazz Record Collectors Bash will be held June 29th - 30th at the Hilton Woodbridge in Iselin, New Jersey. Buy, sell, swap or trade 78s, LPs, CDs, memorabilia, rare jazz films and more. (more...)

In this edition, De Shields tells stories about THE WIZ's journey to Broadway, starring in Ain't Misbehavin', getting naked for the Queen, and more! (more...)

92nd Street Y today announced the 2013 line-up for Lyrics & Lyricists™, 92Y’s celebrated American Songbook series. Deborah Grace Winer returns for her fifth season as artistic director of the series, as well as one of the shows. Guest artistic directors leading the individual concerts are Rob Fisher (with host Sheldon Harnick), David Loud, Billy Stritch and Mark Lamos in his L&L debut. (more...)

The New York Youth Symphony’s Jazz Band Classic concludes its tenth season on Wednesday, May 23, 2009, at 7:30pm with “Sounds From The City,” featuring soloist Ann Hampton Callaway at The Allen Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Under the direction of Matt Holman, director, the group will perform songs from New York City with music by Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, and Frank Sinatra, as well as a big band salute to Broadway. The Adjacent Possible by Evan Weiss, commissioned through the New York Youth Symphony’s acclaimed First Music program, will receive its world premiere. (more...)

Andrew Burashko, founder and Artistic Director of the acclaimed Art of Time Ensemble, today announced the company's groundbreaking 2012-2013 season, sponsored by Invesco Trimark. (more...)

R&B vocalist Brian McKnight has spent the better part of the last two decades on top of the charts, churning out one romantic hit after another for the Mercury, Motown, Warner Bros. and E1 Music labels. The multi-instrumentalist and 16-time Grammy nominee will explore some relatively new musical territory as a frontman for The Duke Ellington Orchestra from May 16 - 18 at the Blue Note. The Ellington Orchestra will perform without McKnight on May 19. (more...)

Rhythmic Circus will astound audiences with their innovative tap dancing and musical prowess, leaving everyone dancing in the aisles! Catch this dance phenomenon on Saturday, May 12 at 8pm at The Colonial Theatre. Rhythmic Circus will be followed by an after party with DJ BFG and projections by Drew Suto. (more...)

The BMI-Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop announces its Spring Smoker, a semi-annual showcase for new songs from Workshop writers. The event will be held in the 30th Floor Media Room of BMIÂ’s New York office at 7 World Trade Center/250 Greenwich Street on Thursday, April 26, at 5:30PM and is open to members of the entertainment industry as well as Workshop members. Reservations are a must: Ssantana@bmi.com or 212 220-3177. Running time is 70 minutes. (more...)

The Capitol Center for the Arts today announced an exciting lineup of performances for its seventeenth season. (more...)

Gwen Terry, The Duke Ellington Society, International Women in Jazz, Jazz Foundation of America and Saint Peter’s Church – Jazz Ministry are partnering to produce a fundraiser for Clark Terry on Monday, April 23 at 7 PM at Saint Peter’s Church, 619 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street, New York City. (more...)

The Duke Ellington Center For The Arts and The Players will co-present a Benefit Cocktail Reception and Concert by the Duke Ellington Center Big Band at The Players, 16 Gramercy Park South, on Sunday, April 29, 2012, – Duke Ellington’s 113th Birthday. The concert will feature performances of Duke Ellington’s most memorable musical pieces performed by the Duke Ellington Center Big Band, under the direction of Frank Owens, plus vocals by Antoinette Montague and Marion Cowings; a performance by The Mickey Davidson Swing Dancers; and the ballroom artistry of Michael Choi. (more...)

Tickets go on sale today for Lincoln Center’s 24th season of Midsummer Night Swing taking place Tuesdays through Saturdays, June 26—July 14. Swing’s 15 dazzling nights of dancing, and one free daytime lesson for children, take place at the bandshell and elevated dance floor in Damrosch Park, on West 62nd Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues. Midsummer Night Swing offers an array of dance music styles including salsa, swing, tango, rock ‘n’ roll, and bhangra. Because of the national holiday there will be no Swing on July 4th, so a special Monday night will be added on July 2nd. (more...)

Amicus Productions concludes their 2012 season with a magical and enjoyable rendering of the Craig Lucas play PRELUDE TO A KISS. (more...)