Five Points will celebrate the lives of three Denver jazz legends as the historic neighborhood takes its party to the streets. Edward Battle, Louise Duncan and Brad Leali will be honored for contributions each has made to jazz in the community on April 28, at 3 p.m. at the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Theatre, 119 Park Ave. West.

The activity is part of the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs’ (DOCA) fourth annual Five Points Jazz Festival on Saturday, at various locations along Welton Street in Historic Five Points. The day begins at 11 a.m., with free concerts and dance performances beginning at 1 p.m.

Each of the jazz honorees has made a mark on the Denver scene. Battle has been a fixture since he came to the city in the 1970s. Active on both the theater and music scenes, he has performed with the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Company, Shadow Theatre Company, the Horace Henderson Combo, at El Chapultepec and as a vocalist with the Denver Jazz Orchestra.

Pianist Duncan, known as “ Colorado’s First Lady of Jazz” and “The Grand Lady of the Grand Piano,” played with Oscar Peterson, Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Ferrante and Teicher, Eddie Condon and Vronsky and Babin. In 1969, her arthritis, which has plagued her life since she was 17, forced her into retirement. She passed away in 1990.

Denver native Leali graduated from George Washington High School and began playing saxophone at a young age. He has performed with such jazz greats as the Count Basie Orchestra, Charles Mingus, Nancy Wilson and Joe Williams. He also has played with the Harry Connick, Jr. Orchestra and played on the Grammy award-winning CD Count Plays Duke. Leali currently heads the jazz program at Texas Tech University.

Editor’s note: The Five Points Jazz Festival takes place at several venues along Welton Street in Historic Five Points. For more information, visit the DOCA’s Web site at www.denvergov.org/concertseries/HomePage/ FivePointsJazzFestival/tabid/425075/Default.aspx.