Memories sought of Duke Ellington's Eastbourne concert
It was at The Congress Theatre that Ellington delivered his swan song in December 1973, a concert immortalised on the 1975 RCA album, Eastbourne Performance.
The record was the last officially-released recording – and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its release, jazz musicians, bassist Arnie Somogyi and pianist Mark Edwards, have recorded a brand-new album – The Ellington Piano Project – that rekindles Ellington's spirit and showcases the actual piano he played during the historic concert.
With fresh reimaginings of classic Ellington compositions placed alongside original music inspired by Ellington’s improvisations, the album spotlights New York-based Dutch tenor Gideon Tazelaar and Matthew Holmes on drums. Vocalist Sara Oschlag, known as an Ellington specialist through her performances with The Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra, is a featured guest on two tracks, Love You Madly and Don’t You Know I Care.
The album is scheduled for release in October 2025 on Rubicon Jazz, accompanied by a supporting tour around the UK, which culminates in Ellington In Eastbourne at The Congress Theatre on October 12 – a celebration of Eastbourne’s unique connection to Duke, with a free-to-enter exhibition and evening gala concert featuring The Ellington Piano Project, Echoes of Ellington and The Brighton and Hove Youth Big Band.
Arnie is looking for memorabilia from that special night in Eastbourne – tickets, posters, whatever – to feature in the exhibition. Anyone who can help should get in touch by the Ellington in Eastbourne Facebook page or through the theatre.
“Ellington was the centre of the jazz world,” Arnie says. “I'm a jazz musician and he was just one of those jazz musicians who was central to my listening. My way in was through Charles Mingus. Being a bass player myself, he was one of my sound models and someone I've been hopelessly trying to emulate! But his great hero was Ellington. Ellington made music that was accessible. He comes from the big band tradition. Dance is very much part of his tradition straight away. But his music was harmonically and compositionally informed which made it really interesting. Just because music was popular, it didn't mean that it had to be dumbed down, and I think that's why he had so much appeal to so many different people across so many different genres.”
On that final tour Ellington did three gigs in England, one up north, one in London and the final one in Eastbourne: “At the time he was battling cancer. He didn't live much longer.
“I think he ended up in Eastbourne because it was an appropriately sized hall. It was away from London and probably to him it was just another gig on the tour. But we have spoken to a couple of people that were at the original concert. They said that it was obvious that he was a bit frail at that point but he still had the aura and the authority and the elegance. One of the guys that we spoke to said the whole band had a huge impression on him as a young man.
“The concert survives as the final official release. And it is curious. When I was going around Eastbourne dropping flyers and posters for the show, it seemed like quite a lot of people had maybe heard of the Eastbourne Ellington concert but just didn't really know the full connection to one of the greatest musicians ever. There should be a blue plaque!”
As for playing on that original Ellington piano: “The project began in 2020 when the Congress Theatre underwent a refurbishment. The theatre management were keen to replace the 1912 Steinway grand piano which was in poor condition but restoration was deemed uneconomic. Fortunately, Echo Zoo Studio owner Dave Lynch stepped in and rescued the piano from an uncertain future, ensuring that this important instrument remained in Eastbourne.
“Subsequently identified as the piano played by Duke Ellington on Eastbourne Performance it has now been lovingly restored and is a significant cultural artefact, housed at the studios, within a stone’s throw of its original home.”
Aware of the piano’s significance, Arnie and pianist Mark Edwards hatched the idea of recording an album inspired by Eastbourne Performance during a session at Echo Zoo in 2020. The 50th anniversary of the 1975 RCA release gave impetus to the project and in October 2024 they produced a suite of new music based around reworkings of Ellington compositions and original music inspired by Ellington’s piano improvisations. The album will be released this October.
Source: Sussex World
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