The Dukes: The Music of Duke Ellington, Duke Pearson, and Duke Jordan
Venue: St Mary’s Church – Battersea
Date: 06/06/2026
Type: Battersea Jazz Festival Music
See all forthcoming events for this venue:
St Mary’s Church – Battersea
Event web site: https://www.batters…
Pianist Hugo Jennings will be leading an all-star quintet in a programme celebrating three “Dukes”: Duke Ellington, Duke Pearson, and Duke Jordan at St Mary's Battersea. The evening will feature some of the greatest compositions in jazz folklore, performed by some of the finest musicians in straight-ahead jazz today.
Doors open at 7:00pm, and the performance will start at 8:00pm.
Lineup: Evan Clegg—Trumpet, Sam Braysher—Tenor Sax, Hugo Jennings—Piano, Luke Fowler—Bass, Louis Brown—Drums
This varied programme will explore the music of one of jazz's foremost composers, Duke Ellington, whilst also showcasing hidden gems from two great jazz pianists who were also given the "Duke" nickname: Duke Pearson (given the moniker by his uncle as a child), and Duke Pearson. These two pianists wrote some of the greatest tunes of the bebop and Hard Bop idioms, which were performed by all of the biggest names in the music's history, with whom they also played (for example, Jordan appeared on several of Charlie Parker's sessions in the 1940s). To tie the programme together, the band will perform standards written by the great songwriter Vernon Duke, who composed many of the most famous tunes in the Great American Songbook, such as "April in Paris", "I Can't Get Started", and "Autumn in New York".
Hugo Jennings is a jazz pianist and singer. He has established himself as a respected name on the London jazz scene, through his playing, knowledge of the history of the music, and work as founder and director of the Battersea Jazz Festival. He has performed at venues such as Pizza Express Dean Street, The EFG London Jazz Festival, Battersea Power Station, the Clapham Grand, ExWide Jazz Club in Pisa, has made appearances at the Edinburgh Fringe and toured cities including Valencia and Athens. He has appeared alongside high-profile British artists such as Alex Garnett, Steve Fishwick, Tom Smith, Fraser Smith, Ruben Fox, Quentin Collins, and countless others, as well as American musicians including Jerry Weldon, Chuck Redd, Gabrielle Stravelli, Pat O’Leary, and Adam Moezinia.
Address:
St Mary’s Church – Battersea, Battersea Church Road, London, SW11 3NA
Phone: 020 7228 9648
Web site: https://www.stmarysbattersea.org.uk/