DUKE ELLINGTON ORCHESTRA – Concert

 

 

(Rain date: July 20)

 

 

A truly special experience awaits the audience of the Margaret Island Theatre on July 19!

On this evening, the Grammy Award-winning supergroup, the Duke Ellington Orchestra—which has been performing around the world for 102 years and has produced more jazz classics than any other band in the world—will present Duke's greatest hits.

 

Duke Ellington’s career spanned over 50 years and included leading his orchestra, composing numerous pieces that became classics, writing film scores and stage musicals, recording albums, and touring the globe. With around two thousand compositions to his name, his work transcends jazz. Ellington himself liked to refer to his music as “American Music.”

Duke appeared in several films with his orchestra, and many of his songs have featured in popular movies over the decades. His score for Anatomy of a Murder earned him three Grammy Awards, and his next film score even garnered an Oscar nomination. Paris Blues (1961) is a true jazz film, in which Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier portray American musicians. To this day, Ellington’s compositions are widely used in films—his music can be heard in Mobsters, Murder on the Orient Express, Eyes Wide Shut, Saving Private Ryan, The Matrix, and Seven Years in Tibet, among others.

 

 

Duke Ellington continued to tour and record until his passing on May 24, 1974. After his death, the orchestra was taken over by his son, Mercer Ellington, a brilliant trumpeter who had composed several songs for the band, including the standard Things Ain’t What They Used to Be. Though both Duke and Mercer have since passed on, today’s Duke Ellington Orchestra continues to perform with the same musical energy and vitality as it did a century ago. The current lineup features brilliant musicians who are deeply committed to presenting Duke’s music, while also adding their own creative flair—just as their predecessors did.

 

Shelley Paul, tenor saxophonist, holds his place in the band’s legacy in high esteem.
“As time goes on, I continually realize that I’m part of something bigger than I can fully comprehend. The way this band has influenced not only American society but the world inspires me to become better,” said Paul.