Savannah Music Festival LIVE 429 – Downtown Uproar

Original air date: week of October 31, 2011

Duke Ellington is widely regarded as one of the most important composers in the history of music and his orchestra in the mid-1930s was at the beginning of his creative peak, featuring some of the finest soloists in the history of jazz. During the years 1936-1940, a series of small group sessions led by Ellington and his sidemen – Rex Stewart, Barney Bigard, Cootie Williams and Johnny Hodges – were recorded for a variety of different labels, and they’ve all stood the test of time. Tune in for excerpts from a 2011 SMF original production entitled “Downtown Uproar”, featuring a group of renowned musicians performing some of these classic works under the musical direction of Ted Nash. Performers include Marcus Roberts, Joe Temperley, Wycliffe Gordon, Jeff, John and Gerald Clayton, Terell Stafford, Rodney Whitaker, Ron Westray and many others.