BROOKLYN COLLEGE — Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College welcomes 2007 Grammy Award Winner Patti Austin and the legendary Duke Ellington Orchestra for an evening of pop and jazz classics on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009 at 8 p.m.

Singer/songwriter Patti Austin has recorded over 30 solo albums in her accomplished career. The daughter of a jazz trombonist, she made her stage debut at the age of three at the Apollo Theater in Harlem with her godmother, Dinah Washington.

Throughout her career, Ms. Austin has performed with such greats as Roberta Flack, Luther Vandross, Peabo Bryson, Jeffrey Osbourn and Diana Ross. In the early 1980s Ms. Austin participated in godfather Quincy Jones’ Grammy Award winning classic, The Dude. Her discography includes Every Home Should Have One, which features her number one 1983 Billboard Top 100 Duet with James Ingram, “Baby Come to Me.�

Her 1988 album, The Real Me, remains one of Ms. Austin’s most recognized, featuring timeless standards such as “They Can’t Take That Away From Me,� “Mood Indigo� and “Cry Me a River.�

Ms. Austin has performed extensively throughout Europe and the Far East and has participated in countless fundraisers for organizations dedicated to the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Orchestra Dates to 1923

The Duke Ellington Orchestra started under the name the Washingtonians in 1923. After a brief stint as Duke Ellington and his Kentucky Club Orchestra, they changed their name to Duke Ellington and his Cotton Club Orchestra. The Orchestra gained nationwide exposure through weekly radio broadcasts from the Cotton Club from 1927-1930. Upon Duke’s death in 1974, his son, Mercer Ellington, took over as bandleader and continued in his father’s tradition. Mercer wrote for, played in, managed, booked and conducted the orchestra for years, often bringing his young son, Paul, with him on tour. Mercer told his son, “This is all yours, make sure you keep it going.�

Paul did so after his father’s death in 1996. Playing various instruments, Paul Ellington has carried on the legacy of his father and grandfather to Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Newport Jazz Festival.

Founded in 1954, the mission of Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts is to present outstanding performing arts and arts education programs, reflective of Brooklyn’s diverse communities, at affordable prices. Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts welcomes over 70,000 people to the 2,400-seat Walt Whitman Theatre each season, and boasts one of the largest arts education programs in the borough, serving schoolchildren from over 225 schools annually.

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