Jazz at Lincoln
Center's 2015 Gala, entitled "The World of Duke Ellington," will
celebrate the indomitable spirit of swing and legacy of Duke Ellington, the
most influential figure in American music. This special one-night benefit
concert will take place on April 29, 2015 – on the 116th anniversary of
Ellington's birth – at 7pm at Frederick P. Rose Hall, the "House of
Swing," located at Broadway at 60th Street, New York, New York.
Hosted by
Michael Keaton, the gala concert will feature the finest names in jazz and
dance conveying the genius of Duke Ellington whose music explored all
themes: love songs, siren songs, dance,
civil rights, spirituals, blue mood, avant-garde, Afro-Latin and more.
Directed
by Robert Pullen and drawn from a script written by historian Geoffrey Ward,
"The World of Duke Ellington" will feature the critically-acclaimed
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and special guests Tony
Bennett, Baqir Abbas, Melissa Aldana, Jonathan Batiste, Shirley Caesar, Dick
Hyman, Adriane Lenox, and Christian McBride.
Proceeds
from "The World of Duke Ellington" will help to enable the thousands
of performances and the diverse education programs and resources produced by
Jazz at Lincoln Center each year. Through its concerts, free webcasts, direct
musical instruction, and distribution of scores, Jazz at Lincoln Center reaches
more than one million people globally, of all ages. The organization employs
more than 1660 artists per year on its bandstands and classrooms.
On this
special evening, the Ed Bradley Award for Leadership in Jazz will be presented
to Jazz at Lincoln Center Board Chairman Robert J. Appel. The Award, named in
honor of CBS News correspondent and original Jazz at Lincoln Center board
member Ed Bradley, celebrates the integrity, wisdom and pioneering spirit of
outstanding leaders and is Jazz at Lincoln Center's most distinguished award.
Mr. Appel's commitment to the arts and to Jazz at Lincoln Center is
unprecedented. His recent gift to this organization was the largest single
private philanthropic contribution to date in support of Jazz at Lincoln
Center.
Jazz at
Lincoln Center will also bestow the 2nd Annual Ashley Schiff Ramos Community
Development in Jazz Award to Wendy Oxenhorn, Vice Chairman and Executive
Director of the Jazz Foundation of America. Through this award, Jazz at Lincoln
Center recognizes an extraordinary individual who uses jazz to enlist and
engage people for the purpose of bringing communities together. Ms. Oxenhorn's
work at the Jazz Foundation of America serves as an inspiration to keep jazz
alive and to support the unique individuals in the jazz community.
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