It is advisable to book any event listed here in advance when possible and check with the promoter/ organiser to ensure any performance is going ahead as planned before travelling.
Monday 3 June 2024
Ronnie Scott's Jazz Orchestra dir. Pete Long featuring Simon Spillett
Vocals by Sara Oschlag
Ella Sings The Duke Ellington Songbook
Ronnie Scott's Club, 47 Frith Street, LondonW1D 4HT 19:30 (BST)
Directed by wise-cracking MD Pete Long, the the band’s exciting brew of virtuoso ensemble playing with killer solo contributions from across all sections has been delighting jazz fans right across the board from newcomers to regulars.
Details here.
Saturday 8. June at 19:30 - 22:00 (BST)
Brighton16 & Phoenix Big Band
Duke Ellington Sacred Concert
St Nicholas' Church • BN18 9AT Arundel, England
Brighton16 & The Phoenix Big Band perform Duke Ellington's Sacred Concert in the wonderful setting of St NIcholas Church, Arundel.
Ellington's Sacred Concert features soprano soloist Liz James and tap dancer Annette Walker.
Alongside the Ellington, Brighton16 will be performing Tippett's Five Negro Spirituals and the Phoenix Big Band will be performing a selection of Ellington's music.
Details here.
Saturday 15 June, 2024
Harmony in Harlem directed by Michael Kilpatrick
Big Band Bash: Harmony in Harlem Plays Duke Ellington
The Maltings, Cambridgeshire, CB7 4BB
The Big Band Bash presents HARMONY IN HARLEM with a fantastic concert of music made famous by DUKE ELLINGTON. Featuring Jane Mayo on vocals, HARMONY IN HARLEM is recognised nationally as one of the foremost purveyors of the Duke Ellington sound. A concert not to be missed!
Details here.
Tuesday, 18 June, 15:00, (CET) Wednesday 19 June
Duke Ellington @125
JAM Music Lab, Vienna
From Monika Herzig...
The recording will be broadcast on several US radio stations and distributed as part of my Podcast series.
“To celebrate the 125th anniversary of his birth, the JAM MUSIC LAB Private University for Jazz and Popular Music Vienna (JMLU) is hosting a symposium on June 18th and 19th, 2024, with the aim of reflecting on the musical, social and cultural significance of Duke Ellington then and now.
Keynote presentations by the most important international Ellington researchers, musical contributions by JMLU teachers and students, together with project presentations developed by students as part of a research-led course on Duke Ellington in the summer semester 2024, form the core component of the program. The two-day symposium will take place in the technically well-equipped 'Spielraum' in the Gasometer and will be streamed worldwide from there with high definition cameras via Zoom in order to achieve the widest possible reach. In order to make participation barrier-free, no participation fees will be charged. The presentation of international experts together with the research projects of the students framed by musical contributions fulfills the mission of outstanding education in jazz and popular music of the Jam Music Lab and strengthens the central cultural position of the city of Vienna.
The two keynote speakers are two of the world's most important Duke Ellington experts:
John Edward Hasse: In his role as Curator of American Music at the Smithsonian Museum of American History, John Edward Hasse managed the largest Duke Ellington archive in the world. He published the results of his many years of research in the book Beyond Category: The Life and Genius of Duke Ellington (Simon & Schuster, 1993).
Laurent Mignard conducts the Duke Orchestra in Paris and is internationally recognized as a musical Duke Ellington expert. The orchestra has recorded more than a dozen recordings of Duke Ellington's music, transcribing and then reproducing much of the original recordings. Mignard also runs the event centre La Maison du Duke in Paris.
Symposium Program:
Tuesday, 18th June
15:00 (CET) Welcome Speech: JMLU Rector Marcus Ratka
15:30 (CET) Keynote Address: John Edward Hasse Duke Ellington’s Magical Ingredients
John Edward Hasse is a museum curator, author, speaker, and leader in his field. For 33 years, he served as Curator of American Music at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, where he curated exhibitions on Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Ray Charles, and founded the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and Jazz Appreciation Month, now celebrated in all 50 states and in 40 countries. He is also a former Chairman of Smithsonian Music. He is author of an acclaimed biography, Beyond Category: The Life and Genius of Duke Ellington with a Foreword by Wynton Marsalis.
17:00 Talking Jazz Live: Monika Herzig with Danny Grissett on Duke Ellington JAM MUSIC LAB Professors and internationally renowned pianists Monika Herzig and Danny Grissett will chat about Duke Ellington, his music and influence, and perform together in the style of Marian McPartland’s legendary Piano Jazz shows. The recording will be broadcast on several US radio stations and distributed as part of Monika Herzig’s Talking Jazz Podcast series.”
Wednesday, 19th June
14:00 (CET) Keynote Address: Laurent Mignard
Laurent Mignard founded the Duke Orchestra to recreate the Duke Ellington Sacred Concert in Saint Sulpice, then the Far East Suite in Beirut. The Duke Orchestra and its dream team of soloists have established themselves as the best active Ellingtonian orchestra (according to the Duke Ellington Music Society). He designed the Jazz Train, chairs the Maison du Duke and founded the Duke Festival.
15:00 (CET) Students Projects: Research Lab with John Hasse Commentary and Q&A
Throughout the summer semester, JAM MUSIC LAB students have studied the legacy of Duke Ellington in a Research Lab, led by Monika Herzig. In addition to an immersion in Duke’s music and life, they enjoyed lectures and workshops with international scholars and specialists, including Katherine Williams (University of Huddersfield), Jamie Baum (Manhattan School of Music), Matthias Heyman (Royal Conservatory Brussels), and John Hasse (National Museum of American History). Using principles of Artistic Research and Historiography, the students investigated historical objects and framed them in cultural and social context with final personal reflections.
18:00 (CET) Evening Concert:
A Showcase of JAM MUSIC LAB Faculty and Students interpreting Duke Ellington’s Music curated by Monika Herzig, Acts: Herwig Gradischnig and Monika Herzig Trio/ Stageband 1under the direction of Danny Grissett/ Danny Grissett, Maja Jakupovic/ Chanda Rule, Miroslav Mirosavljev/ Final C-Jam Blues Jam.
19:30 (CET) Closing Remarks and Champagne Toast
Livestream links
Sunday, 23 June 15: (EST)
The Ellington Effect Workshop with David Berger
Oclupaca
Join David Berger for the 40th Zoom webinar in the Ellington Effect workshop series, which will focus on Ellington's iconic composition Oclupaca. The Ellington Effect workshops are monthly Zoom meetings where David dives into a single composition each time, analyzing it musically line by line, as well as relating pertinent stories about Duke and the band, and answering questions from attendees. This one will take place on Sunday, June 23rd at 3:00pm EST. Get a ticket here, or an annual membership here. |
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OclupacaSix of the seven parts of the Latin American Suite were recorded in New York for Fantasy Records (Tina was recorded January 7, 1970). After Columbia dropped Ellington from their roster in 1962 and RCA showed little interest in bringing him back, Duke recorded for a number of smaller labels. Since the 1950s, Ellington would record new pieces on his own dime when he couldn’t get a label to foot the bill. These recordings became known as “the stockpile”. Many were released after his death. Latin American Suite began as the Mexican Suite during the band’s tour of Mexico but was later expanded to include Brazil, Ecuador, Brazil and Argentina. As with the Far East Suite, Ellington sends postcards from his travels written in his own language. Although Latin American rhythms are employed, the blues and swing are never missing. This is clearly jazz. Oclupaca is Acapulco spelled backwards. Both Ellington and Strayhorn loved playing with words and spelling, especially writing words and titles backwards, like Strayhorn’s tribute to Lana Turner (Anal Renrut). They were not alone in this game. Mozart was known to have written letters to friends that needed to be read in a mirror. By 1968, two of Ellington’s key soloists had left the band—Jimmy Hamilton and Ray Nance. Hamilton’s absence as a clarinet soloist and in the section limited the scope of the band. Russell Procope takes over the clarinet duties, however lacking in the kind of delicate sophistication that Hamilton brought to the band. Oclupaca is an F minor blues with the rhythm section providing a manufactured Latin groove that switches to swing for the shout chorus and shuffle for Gonsalves’ tenor solo and then returns to Latin for the recap. Personnel Recorded November 5, 1968 New York City for Fantasy Reeds: Johnny Hodges (alto sax), Russell Procope (alto sax, clarinet), Harold Ashby (tenor sax), Paul Gonsalves (tenor sax), Harry Carney (bari sax) Trumpets: Cat Anderson, Willie Cook, Mercer Ellington, Cootie Williams Trombones: Lawrence Brown, Buster Cooper, Chuck Conners (bass) Piano: Duke Ellington Bass: Jeff Castleman Drums: Rufus Speedy Jones |
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