"Duke's Place" by Paul McGehee. The legendary pianist, composer, and leader of one of the hottest bands of the Big Band Era and beyond, Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington returned to his home town of Washington, D.C. to open a nightclub and performance stage, fittingly called "Duke Ellington's". Opening in 1948 at 9th and V Streets N.W., the club was to showcase the finest talent in the world of jazz. "Duke's Place", as it quickly became known, hosted sax great Ben Webster, jazz drummer extraordinaire Buddy Rich, and the swinging big band of Illinois Jacquet. Sadly, the club only lasted a few months and closed its doors after one final bash for New Year's 1949. The building subsequently became "The Music Hall" and then the broadcast studios of WUST radio (as the "Radio Hall"), which sometimes featured many live R & B and gospel acts on their stage. In 1963, the WUST Radio Hall served as the operations headquarters for the August 28th "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom", during which Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech calling for an end to racism, preceding the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The building continued to be WUST's home for several years afterward, hosting a variety of talent ranging from James Brown to Bob Dylan to heavy metal and punk bands like GWAR and Dead Kennedys. To this day the giant antenna still sits on the rooftop, left over from its days as a radio station. In more recent decades, live music has continued in the old building, as it became the new home of "The 9:30 Club" in 1996...with its 1,200 person capacity auditorium it is now one of the top rock and alternative music venues in the country. "Duke's Place" is faithfully reproduced from Paul's original color pencil and acrylic paint artwork as an archival quality print issued in a strictly limited edition of only 2,000 pieces each hand-signed by the artist. Print image size: 10 3/4" x 16 1/2".