Celebrate Duke Ellington’s birthday with a career-spanning selection of short films and excerpts from his first filmed performance in Black and Tan (1929) to Symphony in Black (1935) featuring Ellington alongside a young Billie Holiday, to excerpts from Anatomy of a Murder (1959), Paris Blues (1961) and more. The Mike Braverman Sextet will add to the festivities with a joyous live performance of tunes from Ellington vast repertoire that will exemplify legendary vocalist Joe Williams’ declaration, “Ellington is only forever.”
Mike Braverman — Sax/clari
Andrew Clark — Trombone
Hugh Penner — Trumpet
Johannes Grames — Guitar
Brad Pearson — Bass
Alex McKechnie — Drums
The Mike Braverman Sextet
2:00 pm
Apr 27
VIFF Cinema, VIFF Centre
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Also Playing
Dawn Pemberton Sings Aretha + Amazing Grace Film Screening
These dates are going to knock your socks off: one of the all-time great concert films, Aretha Franklin performing at the New Bethel Baptist Church in 1972, and Canada's own Queen of Soul, Dawn Pemberton, performing live in Aretha's honour.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? + The Soda Crackers
Join us for a fun afternoon of bluegrass music with the Soda Crackers, followed by a special 25th anniversary screening of the Coen brothers' beloved Homeric comedy, O Brother, Where Art Thou? starring George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson.
Beatlemania! Get Back Unplugged
Offering a new take on late Beatles' songs, Get Back Unplugged isn't a tribute band, it's a folky, bluesy, jazzy reinterpretation by six top flight musicians from various fields. After the live music set, enjoy the Beatles first worldwide box office smash, A Hard Day's Night.
Leading Ladies Perform Duke Ellington's The Nutcracker Suite
Join us for a unique Nutcracker experience: a live jazz rendition of Duke Ellington's take on Tchaikovsky's music, followed by the premiere of an inspiring doc about how even Covid 19 couldn't stop New York ballet's finest from staging the Xmas favourite.
Dean Thiessen Plays Vince Guaraldi + Charlie Brown
In 1965 jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi created the perfect soundtrack to Charles Schultz's beloved Peanuts. Dean Thiessen's 5-tet pays tributes to Guaraldi's catchy tunes, followed by a screening of the first Charlie Brown feature film.
