NYJO presents an 18-strong jazz orchestra to perform a mixture of new and existing arrangements to celebrate the iconic Blue Note Records and its incomparable contribution to jazz music.
Blue Note is one of the most prolific, influential and respected record labels of the mid-20th century. It is synonymous with the central tradition of Black American Jazz and noted for its role in facilitating the development of musical movements such as hard bop, post-bop and avant-garde jazz. In doing so, it paved the way for a myriad of musicians who navigated their mould-breaking careers on the label including, Horace Silver, Jimmy Smith, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Art Blakey, Grant Green, Hank Mobley, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Hutcherson, and Jackie McLean.
NYJO’s Blue Note programme aims to honour the legendary record label while championing new and emerging UK jazz musicians, challenging them to absorb and reinterpret the era-defining music released by Blue Note Records in the 1950s.