FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!

Celebrating the Legacy of Duke Ellington

Sunday, September 28, 2025
2:00 PM 4:00 PM
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!

A special tribute to legendary composer and bandleader Duke Ellington will take place at the Duke Ellington Statue. This 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—granddaughter of Duke Ellington and Founder and Artistic Director of The Duke Ellington Center for the Arts—and Tony Waag, Founding Director of the American Tap Dance Foundation.

The concert features The Duke Ellington Center Big Band, musical director Eli Yamin performing classic Ellington tunes and jazz favorites. Blending music, dance, and theatrical flair, the celebration will include tap dancers DeWitt Fleming Jr., AC Lincoln, Max Pollak, and Karen Callaway Williams; vocalists Marion Cowings, Nicholas King, Antoinette Montague, and Sharon K. Janda; plus stilt walker Mark Mindek and actor Miles Purinton.

Celebrate Ellington’s enduring legacy with an afternoon of swing, style, and rhythm.

This project is made possible in part with funds from Creative Engagement a regrant program supported by the funding agencies: The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) in partnership with the City Council, The New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature the Howard Gilman Foundation and administered by LMCC.