JAZZ ORCHESTRA PROGRAMMES
Below are a collection of our most popular programmes and special projects
For more information please get in touch with our Bookings Manager paul@nyjo.org.uk
State of the Nation – NEW
NYJO takes the opportunity, post-Brexit debate, to take stock of homegrown British jazz.
The British jazz scene has developed a culture of its own in the 100 years since the Southern Syncopated Orchestra and Original Dixieland Jazz Band toured here in 1919. It is now as diverse as our population. This concert will celebrate the big names flying the flag for British jazz today, but also explore how we got here. From the standards of Ray Noble & Victor Feldman via British bebop pioneers Tubby Hayes & Ronnie Scott, through Afro-Carribbean influences arriving with the Windrush generation and beyond. This melting pot of cultural influences has made British jazz what it is today, and we think that’s worth celebrating.
What you can hear…
Groove Rider – Gareth Lockrane
The Touch of Your Lips – Ray Noble arr. Mike Abene
And I Love Her – McCartney arr. Armstrong
Hush – Nikki Iles
Suddenly Last Tuesday – Jimmy Deuchar
Unison In All Things – Andy Panayi
Dawn Before Dark Before Dawn – Tim Garland
Legends of Jazz
Legends of Jazz is a programme celebrating the greatest jazz classics ever written. Featuring tunes by the indisputable jazz masters, such as Ellington and Monk, explore some landmarks of the jazz canon with NYJO.
What you can hear…
St Louis Blues – W. C. Handy
Half The Fun – Duke Ellington
First Circle – Pat Metheny
A Night In Tunisia – Gillespie arr. Armstrong
Little Pixie – Thad Jones
L’il Darlin – Count Basie
Female Jazz Icons
Female jazz musicians have long been an important part of the jazz scene, celebrated as singers but often under-represented in other roles. This concert celebrates women’s contributions to jazz through history, from Ella Fitzgerald, trumpeter Valaida Snow and composer and pianist Mary-Lou Williams; to contemporary artists like Maria Schneider, Esperanza Spalding, Nikki Iles, Yazz Ahmed and Mercury nominee Laura Jurd, .
What you can hear…
Struttin’ With Some Barbecue – Lil Hardin
That Old Devil Called Love – Doris Fisher (made famous by Billie Holliday)
Wild Oak – Nikki Iles
The Zodiac Suite – Mary-Lou Williams
No Man Is an Island – Laura Jurd
I Know You Know – Ezperanza Spalding
What is Hip?
What is Hip? is a a programme full of music to make you groove.
From the forties to the naughties, classic tunes by Duke Ellington rub shoulders with hits from Kylie Minogue, Kool & The Gang and Tower of Power in this brilliantly eclectic collection.
What you can hear…
Sub Hub Hubbub – Jason Yarde
Rush Hour – Yellowjackets
Harlem Airshaft –Duke Ellington
Havana Blues – Chico O’Farrill
Mama Badgers – Julian Siegel
What is Hip? – Tower of Power
The Great American Songbook
NYJO’s Great American Songbook programme explores the very best jazz standards from the 1920’s – 50’s, with classics from Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Hoagy Carmichael and more.
What you can hear…
Mac The Knife – Kurt Weill
Embraceable You – George Gershwin
Georgia on My Mind – Carmichael and Gorrell
I’ve Got You Under My Skin – Cole Porter
Love For Sale – Cole Porter
That Old Black Magic – Arlen and Mercer
Autumn In New York -Vernon Duke
NYJO’s Cool Yule
Listen out for swinging jazz classics and NYJO’s take on popular carols in this special festive programme.
What you can hear…
Sleigh Ride
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Deck the Halls
Noel Nouvelet
Everybody’s Waiting for the Man with the Bag
The Christmas Song