Today, Jazz at Lincoln Center announced that its signature fundraiser Gala will honor the legacy of the iconic pianist, composer and 13-time Grammy Award-winner, Duke Ellington. The event, Duke at 125, takes place Wednesday, April 30, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. in the organization’s home, Frederick P. Rose Hall, located on Broadway at 60th Street, New York, New York. Proceeds from Duke at 125, an exclusive benefit performance, support Jazz at Lincoln Center’s mission to entertain, enrich, and expand a global community for jazz through performance, education, and advocacy.
This year’s Gala celebrates the 125th birthday of the lodestar of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Duke Ellington, one of the most influential figures in the history of jazz who revolutionized the genre through his unparalleled compositions and innovative arrangements. A master of blending sophisticated harmony with a deep sense of rhythm, Ellington’s work transcended the boundaries of jazz, leaving an indelible mark on the world of music. His prolific career, spanning over five decades, produced timeless classics such as “Take the A Train,” “Mood Indigo,” and “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.”
The Duke at 125 Gala concert features performances anchored by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and some of the finest instrumentalists and vocalists of our time including flautist Baqir Abbas, saxophonist Patrick Bartley, drummer Jeff Hamilton, vocalist Kate Kortum, bassist Philip Norris and more.
As part of the gala concert, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater dancers will perform Pas de Duke accompanied by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. Pas de Duke is Alvin Ailey’s spirited modern dance translation of a classical pas de deux, originally created in 1976, featuring jazz and modern dance, all set to soaring, pulsing music by Ailey’s beloved Duke Ellington.
On this special evening, Jazz at Lincoln Center will present the 2025 Artistic Achievement Award to Toshiko Akiyoshi, pianist and composer of monumental compositions in jazz. The National Women’s History Museum says Akiyoshi “changed the face of jazz music over her sixty-year career. As one of few women and Asian musicians in the jazz world, Toshiko Akiyoshi infused Japanese culture, sounds, and instruments into her music. As a pianist, bandleader, and composer-arranger, Akiyoshi cemented her place as one of the most important jazz musicians of the twentieth century.” Akiyoshi was inducted into Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Ertegun Hall of Fame in a reception held in Dizzy’s Club on April 15, 2023.
Jazz at Lincoln Center will present the Ed Bradley Award for Leadership in Jazz to H. E. Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo, Founder of Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation, and Founder and Artistic Director of Abu Dhabi Festival. Alkhamis-Kanoo is a philanthropist and patron of the arts who bridges Western and Arab cultures and has dedicated her life to inspiring artists to create, generations to innovate and communities to unite and prosper. She established the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation in 1996 and the Abu Dhabi Festival in 2004. In partnership with the 2023 Abu Dhabi Festival, world renowned Iraqi oud virtuoso Naseer Shamma joined the JLCO with Wynton Marsalis for the United States tour of the Jazz at Lincoln Center program, “Middle East Meditations,” fusing jazz rhythms with Arabic maqam.
Following the performance, the celebration continues with a festive dinner and dancing in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Ertegun Atrium and sky-lined Appel Room. The evening culminates in an after-party at Dizzy’s Club.
Gala ticket prices begin at $1,750; table prices, $35,000. For tickets, please contact the Jazz at Lincoln Center Events Office at 212-245-6570 or [email protected]. For more information, visit jazz.org/gala.
A limited number of concert-only tickets at $150 to $750 are available for purchase at jazz.org 24 hours a day or by calling Center Charge at 212-721-6500, open daily from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Tickets can also be purchased at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office, located on Broadway at 60th Street, Ground Floor. Box office hours are Tuesday-Sunday: 10:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. (or 30 minutes past curtain). On Wednesdays, prior to a Rose theater concert, the Box Office will open at 10 a.m.
GALA HONORARY CO-CHAIR
Mercedes Ellington
GALA CO-CHAIRS
Dr. Donna Astion and Michael Fricklas – Clarence Otis – Beth Chartoff Spector
Thank you to Rosenthal Wine Merchant for donating wines for the evening.
A very special thanks to Jody and John Arnhold for their extraordinary support of Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
We proudly recognize leadership support from Dalio Philanthropies; Howard Gilman Foundation, Inc.; Mellody Hobson and George Lucas; Michele and Mark Mandel; Simon Family Foundation; and the Zou Family Fund.
Major support is provided by the Abrams Foundation; Angela and Robert Kissane; Manitou Fund; the Ambrose Monell Foundation; the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; and Seedlings Foundation.
Generous support is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Jazz at Lincoln Center proudly acknowledges its 2024-25 season partner: Bloomberg Philanthropies
Leadership support for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s concert season is provided by Lynne and Richard Pasculano.
For more information, please contact:
Alyssa Bendetson
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Associate Director, Public Relations & External Communications
212‑258‑9908
[email protected]