About

A celebration of the 50th Anniversary of 'Eastbourne Performance', jazz legend Duke Ellington's final officially-released album and an iconic moment in Eastbourne's cultural history.
This special community-focussed event features a host of internationally-acclaimed jazz musicians, accomplished up-and-coming local young musical ensembles, with plans for a special tribute exhibition highlighting Ellington's memorable Eastbourne performance and its legacy for the town, including:

•Echoes of Ellington - the UK's première Ellington Big Band, led by Pete Long, musical director of Ronnie Scott's Jazz Orchestra, with star vocalist Sara Oschlag

•The Ellington Piano Project, launching a new album from leading jazz musicians Mark Edwards and Arnie Somogyi, which takes direct inspiration from that legendary performance.

•Youth performances from the Brighton and Hove Youth Big Band and New Generation Jazz Futures Ensembles, with a planned series of legacy concerts in Eastbourne Schools, in partnership local music hub, Create Music.

• A planned free-to-access exhibition curated by Dr Pedro Cravinho (Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research) contextualising Ellington's visit to The Congress Theatre, explaining Ellington's enduring legacy and Eastbourne's place in music history.

The Ellington in Eastbourne project is a once-only event to celebrate not just an iconic musical moment in the world of jazz, but also to help inspire and inform the next generation of local creative musicians and ensure a continuing legacy for the town of Eastbourne.