Novel Jazz will be in performance at The Hill Arts in Portland on Sunday 27 April, 2025, 2PM.  First and foremost, they will be celebrating Duke’s birthday as well as the timeless music of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn.  Moreover, the year 2025 marks the 110th anniversary of Ellington’s side-kick, William “Swee’ Pea” Strayhorn.  So, there are lots of reasons to celebrate the music of Ellington and Strayhorn!   The mission of the Novel Jazz Septet is to keep Ellington and Strayhorn’s music “alive and swinging”.   Between them, Duke and Strays wrote several thousand compositions over their musical careers, two percent of which represent the well-known standards and 98% of which represent rarely heard gems. 

This show will be a double-header!

FIRST, the septet will perform standard tunes from the Ellington/Strayhorn repertoire plus newly arranged compositions that they have unearthed from original recordings, as well as manuscripts from the Ellington Archives of the Smithsonian Museum of American History and the Strayhorn Collection at the Library of Congress, both in Washington D.C.   Novel Jazz members have dusted these pieces off, rearranged them for the septet, and given them a 21st century sound, all of their own. 

SECOND, the Hill Arts will show the legendary film, “The Intimate Duke Ellington.”Duke Ellington's fifty-year career was full of accomplishments as a highly original pianist, arranger, prolific composer and leader of a timeless orchestra. On occasion he recorded with a small group from his orchestra or as a piano soloist, but Duke was rarely filmed in that capacity... with a few exceptions. On January 23, 1967, Ellington filmed two programs for Danish television in Copenhagen, Denmark. The first puts the focus on Ellington's piano, in solo and trio performances (with drummer Rufus Jones, and bassist, John Lamb) that include "Lotus Blossom," "Mood Indigo," and a definitive version of "Take the 'A' Train." Always a modern and distinctive soloist, Ellington is seen creating brilliant improvisations full of strong melodies, subtle surprises and sly wit.   The second program has him jamming with an octet assembled from his orchestra, including such greats as alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges, tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves, baritone saxophonist Harry Carney, trumpeter Cat Anderson and trombonist Lawrence Brown. Highlights include "The Jeep Is Jumpin'," "Sophisitcated Lady" and "Jam with Sam."

Any Ellington is good Ellington, but The Intimate Duke Ellington (run time 57 minutes) is on a higher level entirely: over an hour of the Duke playing Solo and with a trio in one program, and with an octet in the second. The first of the two sets (both in black and white) finds him exploring lesser known material like the tranquil "Meditation" and the minor blues "On the Fringe of the Jungle" (with an astonishing Rufus Jones drum solo); set two brings on the brilliant instrumentalists from Ellington’s orchestra for "Sophisticated Lady" and more. It is all sublime (just try not to be moved by Hodges's playing on "Passion Flower"). Indeed, in troubled times or any times, Duke Ellington's music is a tribute to humankind's better angels. This film is like a time machine, allowing listeners today to see (and hear) Duke from almost 60 years ago, as he created some of the most iconic jazz ever performed, in an intimate, small-group, setting.  It  is a must- see for Ellington fans, and more generally, for all lovers of music.

This show is an OFFICIAL Portland, Maine celebration of International Jazz Day, a day declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization "to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe." The idea came from jazz pianist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock. Jazz Day is chaired by Hancock and the UNESCO Director-General. The International Jazz Day celebration brings together jazz shows from places far and wide...Ireland, Iran, Kenya, Lichtenstein, Rwanda, Namibia, New Zealand, you name it!

For more information, call the Hill Arts box office at (207)347-7177 or navigate your browser to https://www.thehillarts.me/.  Tickets are $25 in advance and $35 at the door (general seating).  To find out more about the band, navigate your browser to https://www.mainejazz.net/.  Hill Arts is located at 76 Congress Street, Munjoy Hill, Portland, ME 04101.  Remember, “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing!  So, bop-on over to Hill Arts on the Sunday, 27 April, 2025, 2PM for some classic jazz by Duke Ellington, as well as his sidekick, Billy Strayhorn. Come celebrate the Duke’s birthday, Strayhorn’s 110th anniversary, International Jazz Day, all at the same time!