Bahamians Rafael Munnings (left) and Basil Smith, Chief Marketing Officer of the Ministry of Tourism, celebrate Duke Ellington Day with the legendary musicians' grandchildren, Paul and Mercedes Ellington.

NEW YORK, NY– The Islands Of The Bahamas teamed up with the city of New York recently to pay tribute to one of the Bahamas’ famous visiting musicians.

New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg declared April 29 Duke Ellington Day in honor of the  110th anniversary of the jazz legend’s birth.  To commemorate his life, The Islands Of The Bahamas sponsored a special run of the last surviving 1939 New York City ‘A’ Train, made famous by Duke Ellington’s signature tune Take the A Train. The train was outfitted with the Bahamas’ logo and signage, and was dubbed “The Bahamas Express” for the day’s special events.

A regular visitor to The Bahamas, Duke Ellington was known to play at the hottest venues in Nassau in the 50s and 60s with the late Fred Munnings. His son, Rafael Munnings, was present in New York to help commemorate Duke Ellington Day. Additional special guests in attendance included Duke Ellington’s grandchildren Mercedes and Paul; stage, screen and television performer Maurice Hines; designer of the U.S. Mint’s Ellington Quarter Joel Iskowitz; and Stanley Kay, personal friend of Duke Ellington.
  
To kick off the event, Paul Ellington, The Duke Ellington Orchestra and musicians from Music Under New York performed several jazz hits on both the mezzanine at 125th St. in Harlem and onboard the historic train as it traveled to JFK airport. A natural tie-in, JetBlue crew members attended the event and promoted the new $79 one-way fares from JFK to Nassau.

The event was warmly received by the general public and media alike, appearing prominently on television stations like WABC-TV and in print publications like The New York Times.