The newly-opened Lincoln Theatre, DC’s National Theatre, will hold the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival on September 14-15, 2007. As D.C.’s own cultural crossroads, the Lincoln Theatre will once again present a rich, diverse array of critically acclaimed jazz legends from around the globe to honor Dizzy Gillespie’s innovative fusion of Latin, African and Caribbean sounds with jazz music. In the Footsteps of Dizzy (September 14, 8:00 PM) will feature an all-star performance that brings together Dizzy Gillespie prot_g_s, including Roy Hargrove and his Grammy Award-winning band, RH Factor, the Grammy-nominated Danilo P_rez Trio, Grammy winner David Sanchez, Steve Turre and Claudio Roditi to celebrate the genius of Dizzy and today’s jazz greats. Tickets are on sale now for $25-35.

Annual National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Masters Concert (September 15, 8:00 PM) will honor pianist Hank Jones and trumpeter Clark Terry with the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival Lifetime Achievement Award by featuring their work as well as performances by those who played with and were influenced by these two living legends. NEA Jazz Masters David Baker, Grammy winner Paquito D’Rivera, Jimmy Heath, Slide Hampton, James Moody, Dr. Billy Taylor* and the *Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band* will perform. The 2008 Jazz Masters will be announced by NEA Chairman Dana Gioia. For more information, go to www.lovethelincoln.org ttp://www.lovethelincoln.org or www.dejazzfest.org ttp://www.dejazzfest.org.