Windsor concert to celebrate the music of Duke Ellington, 125 years after jazz innovator's birth
The jazz giant was born in 1899, and influenced popular music for all who came later
A Sunday afternoon concert in Windsor's Sandwich Towne will celebrate the legacy of Duke Ellington.
The jazz giant was born 125 years ago, in 1899.
"He was really one of a handful of musicians in jazz you could, without hyperbole, label a genius," said Hugh Leal, the producer of the Windsor Jazz Concert Series at Mackenzie Hall Jazz.
"I mean, the musical content, the expression and the advanced musical ideas in all the areas of harmony, melody, structure of arranging tunes and creating."
He was a masterful writer of great melodies that are very singable and beautiful, said pianist Mike Karloff, who will take part in the concert.
And some of his up-tempo numbers are really fun.
"I think there's a lot of joy in the music, in addition to the rich harmonic vocabulary," Karloff said.
"I think Duke was a very forward-thinking musician himself. He always stayed relevant throughout the 1940s and into the '50s and '60s. ... I don't doubt if Duke were alive today, he would probably very much enjoy a lot of the artists nowadays, and in any genre."
The 2:30 p.m. concert at Mackenzie Hall will feature Karloff, vocalist Natalie Culmone and an ensemble from Michigan led by bassist Paul Keller.
Culmone said she can't wait to play with the American musicians because she believes they're among the best in the area, if not in the entire U.S.
"I've seen Paul a few times, before even being in the jazz scene, and I'm just so impressed with his work," she said.
"This is definitely a bucket list moment."
"Windsorites are fortunate to live right next door to one of the world's great cities for jazz talent," Leal added.
The concert will feature popular Ellington standards such as "Take the A Train" and "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," he said.
It will also feature jazzier instrumentals such as "Braggin' in Brass" and "Squatty Roo."
"He wrote over 1,000 compositions," Leal said. "But we'll probably get in about 18."
The Windsor Jazz Concert Series held a similar salute to Ellington in 1999, for what would have been his 100th birthday.
Organizers decided to hold another one for his 125th, Leal said, because Ellington remains "the greatest jazz composer and … really one of the fundamental forces in the creation of jazz."