This weekend, the Sacramento Master Singers will perform excerpts from Duke Ellington's "Sacred Concerts." It marks several important homecomings.

It will be a homecoming for the Grammy-winning piece, which was played by Ellington and his legendary orchestra in 1965 at Sacramento's Westminster Presbyterian Church. Friday through Sunday, it will be played at the Crest Theater, less than half a mile from the church.

It will also be a homecoming for Ardie Bryant, the "Ambassador of Tap," who spent his early years in Sacramento and graduated from Sacramento High School. Saturday, the legendary bebop jazz tap dancer, who has danced with everyone from Ellington to Count Basie, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, will turn 81.

He will join the Master Singers during a section of the "Sacred Concerts" called "David Dance," originally performed by Tap Dance Hall of Fame inductee Bunny Briggs.

Bryant said he will do two things upon returning to Sacramento. The first is to visit his parents' grave site, and the second is to participate in the Duke Ellington concert, which he said he considers an honor.

It's more than just a couple of homecomings, though. It's going to be a mammoth performance, probably the largest and most complex the SMS have ever performed, said Conductor Ralph Hughes.

All told, the stage will feature more than 100 performers, including the Master Singers, two American River College jazz bands, the Harley White Jr. Orchestra, several dancers and readers from Celebration Arts, the Capital Jazz Project, a handful of vocal soloists and Bryant.

According to Kathy Ossman, Sacramento Master Singers president and lead alto, to fit on the Crest's stage, the performers will need extra platforms to extend beyond where the current stage ends. Hughes said the score is so complex, ARC Jazz Director Dyne Eifertsen, CJP Pianist Joe Gilman and Hughes are all required to share cues and conducting duties.

Then, on top of that, there will be audience interaction. The Sacramento Regional Community Foundation, which helped SMS fund the show, wanted the group to include community participation.

"Some (audience participation sections are) with the whole audience, and some are with volunteers," Ossmann said. "There's a prayer section about what we need (to be) forgiven (for), and we have a chance for audience members to write what that may be in a booth in the lobby, and they can read that."

No one is more qualified to comment on Ellington's music than Bryant, Ellington's friend and musical partner. He also performed the "Sacred Concerts" for the first time in 2004 at the Disney Concert Hall with the Los Angeles Master Chorale.

"He composed all kinds of music, but (the Sacred Concerts) were the religious perspective of the man," Bryant said. "It's very moving, well-written and exciting to know that the man was that kind of person."

Ellington was also one of the most prolific jazz composers of all time, best known for penning some of the genre's most enduring classics, including "It Don't Mean a Thing," "Take the 'A' Train" and "Caravan."

"You really had to be on the ball to be in his company, because everyone working with him was saying something, and he gave you freedom to express yourself," Bryant said. "He used to play (piano) with me (tapping), and we would exchange rhythms," he said, adding, "bop-a-dee-bap-a-dee-bop!"

The 8 p.m. Friday show will be a free performance to high school and youth groups. Those who wish to attend should contact the Sacramento Master Singers business manager at 916-788-7464 or smsbusiness@surewest.net.

Public performances will be held Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets cost $20 for adults and $10 for students and can be purchased at mastersingers.org, by contacting the business manager, or at the door at 1013 K Street.

Photographs: Sacramento Master Singers, credit Bruce Patt Photograpy.