The Duke Ellington Center For The Arts

08/27/2026

Antoinette Montague will be singing “What Color is Virtue” at our upcoming concert on Sunday, September 13th at 2:00 held at the Duke Ellington Circle!! Free and Open to the public.

Recording date: August 27, 1963. Chicago.

Duke Ellington recording session at Universal Studios.

Billy Strayhorn & His Orchestra: Ray Nance, c; Bill Berry, Ziggy Harrell, Nat Woodard, t; Britt Woodman, tb; John Sanders, vtb; Chuck Connors, btb; Rudy Powell, as; Pete Clark, Russell Procope, as, cl; Harold Ashby, ts, cl; Bob Freedman, ts; Billy Strayhorn, p; Joe Benjamin, b; Louis Bellson, d; Juan Amalbert, cga; Duke Ellington, dir.

My Man Sends Me [My People] - Lil Greenwood, vocal
I Love My Lovin' Lover [My People] - Lil Greenwood, vocal

08/27/2026

Happy birthday Count Basie!

William James "Count" Basie (August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984), was a renowned jazz pianist, organist and conductor.

The "Red Bank boy" was born on a day like today, he gave the big band a unique swing, which accompanied several singers such as Sinatra, Ella, Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr. and a long etcetera. Personally, I consider him the real "King of Swing".

His orchestra, which was born in 1935 and currently exists despite the death of the great leader in 1984, still retains that sound, that swing so characteristic of yesteryear. Since 1984, The Count Basie Orchesta was led by former members of the band itself, most of them hired by Basie, followed by Eric Dixon, Thad Jones, Frank Foster, Grover Mitchell, Bill Hughes, Dennis Mackrel and Scotty Barnhart, its current leader.

Reiner🎷

08/26/2026

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Sunday, September 13, 2026 2:00 PM 3:00PM
Duke Ellington Circle New York, NY, 10029 United
States (map)
Celebrate the legacy of legendary composer and bandleader Duke Ellington at the Duke Ellington Statue! This annual, free, outdoor event is presented by The Duke Ellington Center for the Arts in collaboration with the American Tap Dance Foundation.
The celebration will be co-hosted by Mercedes Ellington, Duke Ellington’s granddaughter and Founder/Artistic Director of The Duke Ellington Center for the Arts, and Tony Waag, Founding Director of the American Tap Dance Foundation.
Enjoy an afternoon of swing, style, and rhythm featuring: The Duke Ellington Center Big Band, led by Musical Director Eli Yamin, performing classic Ellington tunes and jazz favorites. Tap dancers, vocalists, and more, blending music, dance, and theatrical flair.
Join us each year to honor Duke Ellington’s enduring legacy through music, dance, and celebration!

American Tap Dance Foundation
Antoinette Montague Miles Purinton Jeffrey Barr Andrea Wright Eli Yamin AC Lincoln Marion Cowings Sharon K Janda
Karen Callaway Williams stiltdancer1 Alfonso Horne Jason Curry Max Pollak
Nicolas King Big Apple Ballroom Michael Choi Ema Nohálová Jerome Jennings Jennifer Vincent Alex Jeun jasonmarshalljazz

08/26/2026

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Celebrate the legacy of legendary composer and bandleader Duke Ellington at the Duke Ellington Statue! This annual, free, outdoor event is presented by The Duke Ellington Center for the Arts in collaboration with the American Tap Dance Foundation.

Sunday, September 13, 2026
2:00 PM 3:00 PM
Duke Ellington Circle
5th Avenue & 110th Street

The celebration will be co-hosted by Mercedes Ellington, Duke Ellington’s granddaughter and Founder/Artistic Director of The Duke Ellington Center for the Arts, and Tony Waag, Founding Director of the American Tap Dance Foundation.

Enjoy an afternoon of swing, style, and rhythm featuring:
The Duke Ellington Center Big Band, led by Musical Director Eli Yamin, performing classic Ellington tunes and jazz favorites.
Tap dancers, vocalists, and more, blending music, dance, and theatrical flair.

Join us each year to honor Duke Ellington’s enduring legacy through music, dance, and celebration!

08/26/2026

08/17/2026

Recording date: August 14, 1958. New York.

Verve recording session at Columbia Studio for the album "Side By Side."

Johnny Hodges & The Ellingtonians: Roy Eldridge, t; Lawrence Brown, tb; Johnny Hodges, as; Ben Webster, ts; Billy Strayhorn, p; Wendell Marshall, b; Jo Jones, d.

Just A Memory
Let's Fall In Love
Big Shoe
Ruint
Bend One
You Need To Rock

08/17/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18p3pYisat/

08/14/2026

Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, and Aaron Bell, Los Angeles, 1960

--Gordon Parks Foundation