Pianos for Duke Reimagined

On the occasion of Harlem Stage’s 40th Anniversary, pianist, composer and educator Jason Moran—“an artist with an eye for connections among the past, present, and future” (The New York Times)—reimagines Pianos For Duke, a Harlem Stage program dedicated to the music of Duke Ellington, first presented at their previous home Aaron Davis Hall in 1999. Moran performed in the ’99 program, at the time a young up-and-coming pianist, featured alongside superstars of the instrument.

Now, 25 years later—on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of Ellington’s birth—Moran guest curates an intimate evening of Ellington’s music in the round, with a single piano in the center of the room and invites legendary jazz pianist Abdullah Ibrahim and other acclaimed pianists, including Bertha Hope, Joanne Brackeen and pianist Micah Thomas, to join him in the celebratory performance.

The Saturday, April 27 performance will be a benefit concert for Harlem Stage. After this all-star performance, there will a riveting discussion between Moran and Ibrahim on Ellington’s significance, followed by a lively cocktail reception.