Uptown Lockdown

I've added a link in the navigation bar above to Uptown Lockdown, a series of on-line broadcasts made by Duke Ellington Society UK.

The programmes are broadcast weekly on Wednesday at 5:00pm GMT and available at the same address as recordings.

There have been seven editions of the programme so far, each lasting something in the region of an hour and a half.

This coming Wednesday's, 17 June, looks to be of particular interest because the invited guest is Bill Saxonis of Albany, New York. Bill was scheduled to speak about  Duke's civil rights activities at the international conference Ellington 2020 which was cancelled due to the pandemic.

The current lockdown has necessitated many activities taking place via Zoom (out of Periscope TV in this instance). I hope Uptown Lockdown continues to thrive when the current crisis has passed. It's an imaginative way of bringing the international community of Ellington scholars and admirers together and deserves every success.

There is also a Society UK discussion group themed around the broadcasts which may be accessed here.