NYJO has been embracing the heatwave for the start of festival season, celebrating the contribution of our ensembles in the vibrant UK Jazz scene. We’ll be shining a light on the achievements of individual musicians whose arrangements and compositions will be heard by many this summer! Over the next few months our EPs will have played over 5 different weekend/ day festivals and are still managing to hit up the iconic 606 club, Birmingham Symphony Hall, and Arts Club Cambridge too. Keep reading for interviews and insights into our NYJO community:
Cross the Tracks Festival
One of the crucial chances we offer our young people is a first glimpse of what life could be like as a gigging musician. Last weekend a group of 20 NYJO performers of us took to the outdoor staging of Cross the Tracks to serenade punters with New Orleans style second line set. For many of our young musicians, it was their first time attending a music festival, let alone having an artist experience sharing a bill along with the likes of Little Sims and Joy Crookes. Safe to say, we will be keeping our artist wristbands for this one! A big thanks to Vij Prakash for musical direction.
Vocal Workshops with Thanda Gumede
As well as of our tribute to the music of Township Jazz as part of Norwich Jazz Festival, NYJO’s long time collaborator vocalist Thanda Gumede delivered practical workshops for secondary school students in Norwich. Our Small Ensembles Manager Kenyah describes the day: “Thanda’s vocal workshop was really special and made for an amazing afternoon experience. You could clearly see them grow in confidence throughout and the three part harmony they produced towards the end was lovely! Workshops like these are so beneficial not only in terms of providing technical advice, but for the history Thanda was able to weave into the session. They make for great access points for young people to explore cultures different from their own.”
Trumpet Giveaways from Music For All
We are thrilled to announce that the charity Music For All has donated two wonderful trumpets to our young musicians. It was very important for the long term donor that these instruments end up in the hands of individuals who will get great value out of them. NYJO selected two very deserving candidates: Amirah who’s been in our Sound Foundations programme for a year now and Angeline (pictured below), a singer, trumpet player and drummer who aspires to go to music conservatoires after sixth form. Access to these quality instruments will help both towards their playing goals.
Upcoming Events:
Miles Davis 100 at Highworth Festival
Saturday 6 June, 12pm
Highworth, High Street, Wiltshire, SN6 7AQ
To celebrate the centenary of the birth of Miles Davis, NYJO will debut a brand new project at Highworth Jazz Festival this June. NYJO’s Emerging Professional Musicians honour this moment with a special nine-piece band to bring to life the highly influential 1957 album Birth of the Cool, mirroring Miles Davis’ original nonet configuration. Alongside this, there will be performances of new arrangements of his iconic repertoire by bandleader and lead trumpet, NYJO’s own Tom Stringer.
NYJO presents: A Tribute to Abdullah Ibrahim at B Music
Saturday 20 June, 3pm B:Music Symphony Hall, Birmingham, B1 2EA
Join us and celebrate Abdullah Ibrahim’s musical legacy presented and led by Ibrahim’s long-term disciple and collaborator Pete Letanka and our NYJO young musicians. Expect a fresh perspective on Township Jazz, and watch Birmingham Symphony hall come alive with the soundtrack of beauty and cultural resilience that the genre has become defined by.
Miles Davis 100 at Love Supreme Festival
Saturday 4 July, 7pm
Glynde Place, East Sussex
NYJO is excited to be celebrating the 100th anniversary of Miles Davis’s birth at Europe’s largest outdoor summer jazz festival, Love Supreme, this July.
More Announcements:
NYJO Alumni Conversations: Guy Barker
This month our Comms Coordinator Sofi talks to NYJO alumni Guy Barker. Guy’s jazz journey has seen him play with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr and Liza Minnelli. In the classical sphere he has performed with the LSO, RPO, Hong Kong Philharmonic. In Pop, he can list Sting, Phil Collins, Grace Jones and Peter Gabriel amongst other famous collaborators. Click below to find out how his early experiences in music shaped his career.
