Keith Ingham's Elegant Ellington

Billy Strayhorn was Duke Ellington's collaborator.  The pair were so close that many scholars feel a lot of Ellington's compositions have more Billy than Duke in them.  Thus for Billy Strayhorn's birthday, it's appropriate to play some Ellington pieces.

Pianist Keith Ingham is the right guy to do it too.  He's familiar to many Watchung fans as the accompanist to popular singer Nancy Nelson when she appears here.  But he's a lot more. 

Judging by his many recordings and theme concerts he's produced elsewhere, Keith is as much a jazz historian as master of the keyboard.  His performances, live or on CD, always have at least a few unexpected tunes that listeners have either forgotten or perhaps never knew.  After Keith puts his spin on them though, they seem like old friends.

Keith and bassist Kelly Friesen have presented their Elegant Ellington to great acclaim in some of the posh Manhattan cabarets, but Watchung is their choice to debut the collection in New Jersey.  And why not?  We have the crisp acoustics and up-close seating every performer wants for this sort of show.  And an appreciative audience that is not engaged in eating and drinking during the performance.

From the perspective of the audience, it's also ideal.  And, at $12 a seat, quite a bargain.  The eating and drinking are done during intermission, yet they're included in the paltry price of the show.