Before it was Orchestra Hall, it was Paradise Theatre — Detroit’s legendary home of big band jazz. On Friday, November 13, 2026, the Paradise Theatre Big Band keeps that flame burning with a night of swinging standards at the historic Woodward Avenue hall.
From 1941 to 1951, the Paradise hosted Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Billie Holiday and nearly every giant of the era, and the DSO’s Paradise Jazz Series honors that legacy in the very room where it happened. A big band in that acoustic — brass bright, rhythm section cooking — is as close to time travel as music gets.
The concert is at the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center, 3711 Woodward Avenue. Tickets at dso.org.
