Laurent Mignard Duke Orchestra - Duke Ladies Vol.1 (2021)

Duke Ellington loved women who returned the sentiment; this passion for womankind inspired his oeuvre throughout his long career. The Duke Ladies are those whom he frequented, whose portraits he painted or who sang for him, embellished with subtle and refined arrangements (often with the complicity of Billy Strayhorn). His music paid homage to them with tenderness and humor.
The Duke Ladies are also the sincere and passionate feminine artists of our time who have come together to incarnate with talent and generosity the many facets of Ellington’s art. And since the maestro of charm considered that music is a woman, we dare to proclaim that women are the future of Duke!

With Duke Ladies, Laurent Mignard DUKE ORCHESTRA proposes a wide instrumental and vocal range in homage to the feminine gent. Eight invited artists like Natalie Dessay, Rhoda Scott and Roberta Gambarini join the jazzwomen of the orchestra to embody with talent and generosity the multiple facets of Ellingtonian elegance.