GRAMMY®-winning musician Meshell Ndegeocello performs from her newest album "No More Water: The Gospel Of James Baldwin." The visionary work is at once a musical experience, a church service, a celebration, a testimonial, and a call to action.

12 pm: Complementary Lunch Reception 1 pm: Preview Screening + Discussion Our special two-day celebration of the life and legacy of jazz pianist, composer, and mentor Yusuf Salim continues with ...

Singer-songwriter Gregory Porter has garnered wide acclaim for his rich baritone and fusion of jazz, soul, and gospel. Drawing inspiration from legends like Nat King Cole, Donny Hathaway, and Stevie Wonder, Porter ...

Presented by Joshua Redman is a different sort of musical explorer. As an improviser and a bandleader, he tends to strike an elegant balance between logic and risk. 11-time Grammy ...

Featuring Frankie Alexander, Eve Cornelious, Lois Deloatch, Nnenna Freelon and Adia Ledbetter Jazz pianist, composer, and mentor Yusuf Salim — known by the community as Brother Yusuf — was born ...

Featuring Gary Bartz, Eve Cornelious, Chip Crawford, Nnenna Freelon and Rachiim Ausar-Sahu Jazz pianist, composer, and mentor Yusuf Salim — known by the community as Brother Yusuf — was born ...

Presented by A weekend of jazz from Duke Arts Presents kicks off with none other than Vice Provost for the Arts John V. Brown as he convenes an all-star group of local ...

Trumpeter, pianist, and composer Terence Blanchard is a seven–time Grammy winner and two–time Academy award nominee whose fearless improvisations and prolific compositions have left an indelible mark on music. Blanchard’s newest release, Absence, ...

Celebrated New York-based singer José James has been called a “jazz singer for the hip-hop generation,” as he shares a genre-bending sound influenced by jazz as well as contemporary hip ...

Harpist Brandee Younger has spent fifteen years stretching boundaries both sonic and social by playing jazz, R&B and hip hop on the classical instrument and unearthing the underrepresented legacies of ...

Hailed as a “bebop supergroup” by NPR, The Cookers’ seven members have played on over 1,000 recordings combined, and two of them — drummer Billy Hart and saxophonist Donald Harrison, ...

Close to 40 years after her debut album as a bandleader, Eliane Elias is just hitting her stride.  Elias has picked up three Grammy and Latin Grammy wins in the ...

Nella Rojas got off to a blazing start when her debut Voy won Best New Artist at the 2019 Latin Grammys. The flamenco-driven title track was named one of the ...

Gregory Porter’s powerful baritone shows out on recordings like “Concorde,” the opening track of 2020’s Grammy-nominated All Rise — an album All Music called “buoyantly sophisticated.” But to truly experience ...

The Mingus Big Band is an avatar of the fierce jazz giant, Charles Mingus, now celebrating his 100th birthday year. Guided by his widow Sue Mingus, a 2023 National Endowment ...

Save 20% when you buy 4 or more events. Book now. Log in here to access employee and student discounts. ### Radio France dubbed Yacine Boulares “one of the most talented jazzmen of ...

Save 20% when you buy 4 or more events. Book now. Log in here to access employee and student discounts. ### The Mingus Big Band is an avatar of the fierce jazz ...

Save 20% when you buy 4 or more events. Book now. Log in here to access employee and student discounts. ### We are thrilled to open the season with Joey Alexander, the ...

In partnership with NorthStar Church of the Arts, Duke Performances is pleased to present a community celebration of the life and work of pioneering pianist/composer Mary Lou Williams on Saturday, ...

When Pat Metheny landed on the international jazz scene in 1974, he quickly became known for his unique rhythmic and harmonic sensibility, bolstered by a tendency to phrase melodies like ...

For more than thirty years, the Branford Marsalis Quartet has told stories through sound with compositions original and classic, familiar and avant-garde. Joined by pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis, ...

GRAMMY-nominated pianist Chris Pattishall joins Duke Music professor Anthony M. Kelley for conversation about Pattishall’s decades-long exploration of Mary Lou Williams’s Zodiac Suite — a work that Patishall, along with ...

Self-taught pianist by three, professional musician by fifteen, teacher to Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis soon thereafter, and later Duke’s first Artist in Residence and Director of the Duke Jazz ...

Duke Performances is excited to present our virtual season – The Show Must Go Online! High-quality, commissioned films featuring artists originally slated for in-person performances will premiere on Vimeo for ticket holders. ...

We’re partnering with Duke Arts and WXDU on a livestream series hosted by Duke Performances on Facebook Live and Instagram Live. We’re continuing the series with pianist and composer Gerald ...

We’re partnering with Duke Arts and WXDU on a livestream series hosted by Duke Performances on Facebook Live and Instagram Live. We’re continuing the series with Durham-based vocalist Kate McGarry ...

Saxophonist Joshua Redman — composer, bandleader, and one of jazz’s leading lights for well over two decades — reflects on his career, creative process, and current project, Still Dreaming, which ...

Imani Winds, the GRAMMY-nominated, NY-based wind quintet renowned for its virtuosity and record of commissioning bold new works by composers of color, leads a “Sunday Service” at NorthStar Church of ...

Duke Performances subscriptions and single tickets, including $10 Duke student tickets, are now on sale. Subscriptions and single tickets can be purchased online, via phone at 919-684-4444, and in person at ...

Duke Performances subscriptions and single tickets, including $10 Duke student tickets, are now on sale. Subscriptions and single tickets can be purchased online, via phone at 919-684-4444, and in person at ...

Duke Performances subscriptions and single tickets, including $10 Duke student tickets, are now on sale. Subscriptions and single tickets can be purchased online, via phone at 919-684-4444, and in person at ...

March 16, 2020: Important Announcement: Remainder of Duke Performances spring season cancelled Dear Friends, Due to precautionary measures related to COVID-19, Duke University has temporarily suspended on-campus classes and is ...

March 16, 2020: Important Announcement re: Zakir Hussain Dear Friends, Due to precautionary measures related to COVID-19, Duke University is postponing all events with an expected attendance of more than ...

Duke Performances subscriptions and single tickets, including $10 Duke student tickets, are now on sale. Subscriptions and single tickets can be purchased online, via phone at 919-684-4444, and in person at ...

March 16, 2020: Important Announcement: Remainder of Duke Performances spring season cancelled Dear Friends, Due to precautionary measures related to COVID-19, Duke University has temporarily suspended on-campus classes and is ...

March 16, 2020: Important Announcement: Remainder of Duke Performances spring season cancelled Dear Friends, Due to precautionary measures related to COVID-19, Duke University has temporarily suspended on-campus classes and is ...

In this free lunchtime talk at The Pinhook in downtown Durham, trailblazing pianist, composer, bandleader, and 2010 MacArthur fellow Jason Moran sits down with Durham-based spoken word artist Dasan Ahanu ...

Due to forecasted winter weather, Sunday’s presentation of the NCCU Vocal Jazz Ensemble will be canceled and not rescheduled. Interested patrons can attend the ensemble’s free performance on Saturday, December 8 ...

Professor and Emmy-nominated producer Natalie Bullock Brown moderates this special roundtable discussion featuring four of the headlining artists from Duke Performances’ In the Jazz Tradition series: Jazzmeia Horn, Catherine Russell, ...

Due to the potential impacts of severe weather on the region, we have opted to cancel Jason Moran’s Arts & Context conversation on Friday, September 14 at The Pinhook. We ...

In this free lunchtime talk at The Pinhook in downtown Durham, renowned saxophonist, bandleader, and Durham resident Branford Marsalis joins Duke Performances executive director Aaron Greenwald for a conversation about ...

Maverick alto saxophonist Steve Coleman joins Mark Anthony Neal (Chair, African and African American Studies) for a wide-ranging discussion touching on his career, influences, and influential approach to creation and ...

Jason Moran is one of modern music’s most vital forces. Through a series of ambitious projects meant to bring jazz to a wider audience — such as the 2007 Duke ...

Branford Marsalis is jazz royalty. Raised in the rich culture of New Orleans by a family of professional musicians, Marsalis got his start touring with Art Blakey’s legendary Jazz Messengers. ...

$10 Duke student tickets are available for purchase online, via phone at 919-684-4444, and in person at the Duke University Box Office, Monday through Friday, 11 AM to 6 PM. ...

While struggling as an eager young alto saxophonist in New York during the mid-1980s, Steve Coleman stumbled upon an idea that seemed obvious but has proven revolutionary: Music should reflect ...

During the last decade, there has been no jazz quintet more impressive than the one that trumpet and cornet master Ron Miles assembled to make 2017’s poignant I Am a ...

The ‘Black Atlantic’ Package, which provides access to all ‘Black Atlantic’ shows at Motorco and best available reserved seats in Baldwin Auditorium, including performances by Derek Gripper, Fatoumata Diawara, Noura Mint ...

Acclaimed pianist Fred Hersch was touring France in the mid-1990s when he experienced an undeniable urge: he needed to read Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman’s visionary expression of open-hearted love ...

Jason Moran is one of modern music’s most vital forces. Through a series of ambitious projects meant to bring jazz to a wider audience — such as the 2007 Duke ...

Duke Performances and the Carolina Theatre are pleased to announce the reschedule of their co-presentation of Charles Lloyd & The Marvels feat. Lucinda Williams to MONDAY, MARCH 18, 2019 at ...

Given the winter weather expected this Sunday, December 9, Duke Performances is rescheduling Kate McGarry’s Sunday sets for TUESDAY evening, December 11, at Durham Fruit & Produce. The sets will ...

The ‘In the Jazz Tradition’ Package, which provides access to all 14 ‘In the Jazz Tradition’ sets at Durham Fruit & Produce, including performances by Nnenna Freelon, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Nellie ...

The ‘In the Jazz Tradition’ Package, which provides access to all 14 ‘In the Jazz Tradition’ sets at Durham Fruit & Produce, including performances by Nnenna Freelon, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Nellie ...

The ‘In the Jazz Tradition’ Package, which provides access to all 14 ‘In the Jazz Tradition’ sets at Durham Fruit & Produce, including performances by Nnenna Freelon, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Nellie ...

The ‘In the Jazz Tradition’ Package, which provides access to all 14 ‘In the Jazz Tradition’ sets at Durham Fruit & Produce, including performances by Nnenna Freelon, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Nellie ...

The ‘In the Jazz Tradition’ Package, which provides access to all 14 ‘In the Jazz Tradition’ sets at Durham Fruit & Produce, including performances by Nnenna Freelon, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Nellie ...

The ‘In the Jazz Tradition’ Package, which provides access to all 14 ‘In the Jazz Tradition’ sets at Durham Fruit & Produce, including performances by Nnenna Freelon, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Nellie ...

As part of Duke Performances’ 10-day celebration of the music and legacy of Thelonious Monk, pianist and co-curator Ethan Iverson will host a pair of late-night jam sessions at Durham ...

The trumpeter Dave Douglas didn’t always “get” Thelonious Monk. The melodies seemed too simple, less flashy than the licks one could learn from Coltrane.

Acclaimed pianist and composer Kris Davis substitutes for the recently deceased jazz great Geri Allen on Monk@100.

In this dream collaboration, two of American music’s brightest and most adventurous modern minds, Tyshawn Sorey and Jason Moran, collaborate to pay tribute to their clear musical and intellectual predecessor, Thelonious Monk.

Though pianist Gerald Clayton and saxophonist Ben Wendel are bandmates and compelling musical collaborators.

Saxophonist Ravi Coltrane was born into jazz royalty, as the son of musicians John (who died before Ravi was two) and Alice.

“Is Joshua Redman a new archetype?” The New York Times asked more than two decades ago, when the saxophonist and recent transplant to the city was just twenty-five.

Nearly four decades separate the exuberant Chris Potter and the sage Houston Person, but in Durham they share the same supporting trio.

Thelonious Monk contributed countless standards to the jazz canon.

At the dawn of the 1970s, British guitarist John McLaughlin, fresh from recording Miles Davis’ seminal Bitches Brew, reinvented the possibilities of his electrified instrument.

Gregory Porter has played to sold-out houses at Duke Performances twice in recent years, moving into ever-grander venues as his fame grows.

Drummer Brian Blade has an astounding résumé. He played on Bob Dylan’s Time out of Mind, Norah Jones’ Come Away with Me, and Emmylou Harris’ Wrecking Ball.

As a composer and bandleader, five-time GRAMMY winner Maria Schneider deploys her peerless seventeen-piece Maria Schneider Orchestra to test the boundaries between classical music and jazz.

Though she’s not yet reached her thirtieth birthday, Melissa Aldana has already broken several jazz boundaries.

The guitarist Bill Frisell has earned great acclaim, especially during the last decade, for highly conceptual projects, many of which he’s presented at Duke Performances.