Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday will be honored with an all Duke Ellington concert at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 16, at the Oak Park Arms retirement community, 408 S. Oak Park Ave.
The Monday Night Concert Series features the Jeremy Kahn Trio with Ron Friedman and Eric Hochberg playing the timeless music of Duke Ellington.
Celebrated on the third Monday of January, the King holiday is a time when the nation pauses to remember Dr. King’s life and work and to honor his legacy by making the holiday a day of community service.
During the less than 13 years of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s leadership of the modern American Civil Rights Movement, from Dec., 1955 until April 4, 1968, African Americans achieved more genuine progress toward racial equality than during the previous 350 years. Dr. King is widely regarded as America’s pre-eminent advocate of nonviolence and one of the greatest nonviolent leaders in world history.
Duke Ellington called his music "American Music" rather than jazz. A few of his many hits are It Don't Mean a Thing if It Ain't Got That Swing, Sophisticated Lady, Mood Indigo, Solitude, In a Mellotone, and Satin Doll. As both a composer and a band leader, Ellington's reputation has increased since his death, with thematic repackagings of his signature music often becoming best-sellers.
The Oak Park Arms is a rental retirement community which provides independent and assisted living apartments and a full schedule of activities and services. Furnished apartments are also available for a short-term stay - a weekend, a week, a month or longer.
The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, call Jill Wagner at 708-386-4040 or visit http://www.oakparkarms.com/
