Celebrating Duke Ellington’s birthday with a deep dive of memories hosted by Tim Elliott

Band leader and composer Duke Ellington will be celebrated at a birthday party hosted by Tim Elliott. This free event taking place at Avondale will be of interest to all jazz enthusiasts keen to learn more about Ellington’s time in Stratford.

Duke Ellington has been such a huge influence on local musician Tim Elliott that he has spearheaded two events to appreciate the talented bandleader and composer. In advance of the July 13 concert of Stratford Swings Ellington with the Brian Barlow Big Band, Elliott is hosting a birthday celebration for Ellington where special guests like Brian Barlow will share their memories and perspectives of him.

The Duke Ellington birthday party will take place at 3 p.m. April 25 at Avondale United Church. The free event will be of interest to any enthusiast or even those who remember the four visits Ellington made to Stratford in 1956, 1957, 1965 and 1968.

“In the early days, the Stratford Festival was music and theatre. There was the tent, then there was the concert hall on Lakeshore Drive and Water Street where the Tom Patterson is now. They had music all summer long and Ellington came in ‘56. Ellington loved Stratford and Stratford loved Ellington. They commissioned him to write a Shakespearean suite called Such Sweet Thunder and he wrote it in 1956, then performed it in 1957. It is rarely heard,” said Elliott.

Elliott thought that 70 years since that commission was something worth celebrating so he proposed to the Stratford Festival to consider presenting this Shakesperean suite in 2026. He had worked with Brian Barlow on other projects and they came together for this. To promote the concert and support the conversations around it, he thought to have an event where Barlow is the guest speaker. Thinking Ellington’s birthday and Shakespeare’s birthday are close, he chose this April date.

Guests include Stratford locals Gordon Conroy and Laura Pogson who remember the visit and will share their stories. Bill Harris, general manager of the Stratford Film Festival has firsthand experience with family stories to share. Barlow will talk about Ellington and his music from his point of view.

“Talking to others, there were a number of people who were around in those years that were at the concert. People have been emailing me and calling me after learning about my interest to tell me their stories. Two of them are going to speak at the birthday party. Bill Harris will speak. He remembers stories growing up and Ellington was in his living room. The main speaker is Brian Barlow. It is his band that is presenting Such Sweet Thunder at the festival July 13,” said Elliott.

The talk will conclude with a Q-and-A and singing happy birthday. “We’ve got some special birthday treats for the audience and door prizes. There’s a lot of interest. Ellington is very interesting because of his similarity in approach to Shakespeare who wrote roles in his plays for specific actors in his company. Ellington wrote music specifically for his soloists in his band and he was a Shakespearean scholar,” Elliott said.

The purpose behind the event is twofold. The first is obvious, to celebrate, but the second is to gauge the level of ongoing interest in Ellington for future events. There are a lot of jazz fans around town who would appreciate more events in Stratford.

“I think when you start to see the connections here in Stratford and the history of Stratford as a community, and when you look at what it meant to welcome actors and world-famous musicians, it’s a big deal,” said Elliott.

The free birthday celebration for Duke Elliott takes place April 25 at 3 p.m. at Avondale United Church. No RSVP is required and all are welcome. For more information, email: rtimothyelliott@gmail.com.