Welcome to DESUK

The Duke Ellington Society UK’s purpose is to further the study, appreciation and dissemination of the music of Edward Kennedy ‘Duke’ Ellington.

We meet regularly in London to listen and socialise, and new arrivals are always welcome.

Our house publication Blue Light is released quarterly. The content is wide ranging and we are fortunate to have amongst our members jazz authors, journalists and critics, and equally fortunate to have many enthusiastic members who, because of their own deep interest, have become expert in particular niches of Ellingtonia.

You can read a sample issue here: Blue Light 31-1 (PDF, 8.9MB).

AGM 2025

Thanks to all who attended our AGM via Zoom!

DESUK TV: Uptown Lockdown

Past episodes are available on YouTube.

For more details on how to view and participate, or to make a donation to support the show, are on the Uptown Lockdown page.

Chat to us

We’re chatting online using Discord - join us at https://discord.gg/efQNUMa.

Non-society events

Got a gig coming up with an Ellington element? Pop us an email and we can publicise via our website.

Frank Griffith — Upcoming Gigs

DESUK member Frank Griffith has the following gigs coming up:

21 November 2026, 8:30PM — Ma Boyles, 7 Tower Gardens, The Strand, Liverpool L3 1LG Frank Griffith with Johnny Mac, James Chadwick, Mike Hughes — Free Info: parrjazz.co.uk

22 November 2026, 5–7PM — The Cheese Cellar, 114 Allerton Road, Liverpool L18 8AG Frank Griffith with Michael Cearns (piano) — Free Info: thecheesecellar.co.uk

13 December 2026, 5–7PM — The Cheese Cellar, 114 Allerton Road, Liverpool L18 8AG Frank Griffith Trio — Free Info: thecheesecellar.co.uk

4 February 2027, 8PM — Cheshire Cheese, 2 Wallasey Village, Wallasey CH44 2DH Frank Griffith Nonet — Free Info: mikehughesjazz.com

25 March 2027, 8PM — Carlisle Rugby Club, Warwick Road, Carlisle, Cumbria CA1 1LW Frank Griffith w/ Lucy Lockwood, Dean Stockdale, Dave Tompkins — £10

8 April 2027, 8PM — Heron Theatre, Stanley Street, Beetham, Cumbria LA7 7AS Frank Griffith w/ Richard Wetherall, Dave Tompkins, Gaz Hughes — songs from Ellington and Strayhorn — £10 Info: theherontheatre.com

10 April 2027, 8PM — Zeffirellis, Compston Road, Ambleside, Cumbria LA22 9AD Frank Griffith w/ Richard Wetherall and Dave Tompkins — £10 Info: zeffirellis.com

Harmony In Harlem — Upcoming Concerts

Harmony In Harlem has the following concerts coming up:

Friday 20 November 2026 — St Andrew’s Street Baptist Church, Cambridge CB2 3AR Supported by Cambridge Jazz Festival — £17.50 (18+) Tickets: on the door or online

Sunday 29 November 2026, 3PM — St John’s ARC, St John’s Walk, Market Street, Old Harlow CM17 0AJ An afternoon of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, with new feature pieces for soloists and new songs for vocalist Jane Mayo — £17.50 (18+) Tickets: on the door (cash only) or online (cards) Tel: 01279 442447 or 01279 417575

More info: harmonyinharlem.co.uk · Facebook event (20 Nov) · Facebook event (29 Nov)

Many of our members are musicians who perform Ellington material: * Frank Griffith: saxophonist, clarinettist, composer and educator. Find out more at www.frankgriffith.co.uk. * Quentin Bryar plays for the Louisiana Rhythm Kings. See louisianarhythmkings.co.uk.

Recent Tweets

Recent posts

Ron Drotos on Ellington

Spotted over at Ron Drotos’ wesbsite: The Beginner’s Guide To Duke Ellington. A nice introductory article with some good selections. One to share with Ellington newcomers.

Ron told us:

I got on board the Ellington train in the early 1980s, when I was 17-18 years old. My piano teacher Billy Taylor had known Ellington and Strayhorn and used to make me cassettes of out-of-print albums of theirs.

There are a few more Ellington-related blog posts on the site, including the surprising similarity between Duke Ellington, Keith Jarrett, and Elton John, as well as guides to playing some of the songs. We look forward to more!