Gig Preview: NYJO 'Three Nations Under One Groove' at Sage Gateshead, April 1st

The National Youth Jazz Orchestra has set up a three date tour in collaboration with two visiting international youth jazz orchestras, including one date in the North as part of the Gateshead International Jazz Festival on April 1st.

After a number of successful collaborations with Germany's BuJazzO and the Dutch Nationaal Jeugd Jazz Orkest, they have put together these three special performances featuring all three ensembles which are sure to be unforgettable gigs!

NYJO MD Mark Armstrong says

The whole concept for “Three Nations Under One Groove” is to demonstrate that jazz is a universal language spoken by young musicians across Europe, with the variety of colours and “jazz dialects” used by all three nations coming together to add nuance and conversation to the repertoire we play.

One key element was that although all three groups brought their own repertoire and players, we would perform as mixed groups rather than separately as NYJO, BuJazzO and NJJO. The music ranged from NYJO’s eclectic mix of arrangements and commissions, original compositions by the NJJO director Martin Fondse, the epic Cuban Fire by Johnny Richards for Stan Kenton, and a “jazz concerto grosso” for big band and small solo group specially written for the project.

Tickets for the Gateshead performance cost £15 and can be bought through the Sage Gateshead website.

For more information, visit the NYJO website.

BlueJam Arts team up with NYJO

Cumbrian young musicians will have the chance to work alongside the National Youth Jazz Orchestra next month, when BlueJam Arts teams up with NYJO for a joint concert.

The performance will feature the BlueJam musicians performing with a small group of NYJO musicians, setting the stage for the main NYJO concert.

The gig takes place at the Sands Centre in Carlisle on 26th June and tickets are priced at £15.

BlueJam Arts runs a number of jazz/improvised music workshops including weekly workshops and an improv choir. They are currently working on a HLF-funded project entitled Stone Meets Sky, using film and music to document young peoples' responses to their local Neolithic heritage.

Engines Orchestra announces open call for projects

Phil Meadows, founder and director of the Engines Orchestra, has announced that they are now open for submissions from musicians at all stages of their careers to form their next projects.

It doesn’t matter where you are in your professional career we’re looking to produce a variety of projects in a multitude of styles. However there are, are a few important things to take into account so please read the following carefully...
 

• The music has to be original.
• There must be a performance and/or recording at the end of the project.
• You can apply as an ensemble or an individual artist.
• It can be for any size of orchestral ensemble – we have a rhythm section too if needed.
• You do not need to be able arrange or conduct the project – we have a dedicated team of arrangers and directors.

The orchestra have been on fire since their inception, releasing a well-received debut album, holding a sold-out gig at the London Jazz Festival and running a number of educational courses for young musicians.

The deadline is June 1st and interested parties should submit a paragraph about their current work, an explanation of what their proposed project is and a link to audio or video. 

UK Premiere for Stuart McCallum's Ballet Score

Guitarist Stuart McCallum will be at the Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield this Saturday at 2pm for the UK premiere of his ballet score as part of artist Linder Sterling's new work, The Ultimate Form.

It was first premiered in Paris in January 2013, at the Musée d'Art Modern, as part of Linder's retrospective. As well as the work of Linder herself and Stuart McCallum, fashion designer Richard Nicoll and dancers from the Northern Ballet are also part of the work.

The piece, described as "a fusion of  dance, music, fashion, art, sculpture and landscape" will take place outdoors between 2pm and 4pm.

The Ultimate Form marks the next step in a successful partnership between artist Linder and musician Stuart McCallum. Amongst other works, Stuart collaborated on Linder's 13 hour performace piece The Darktown Cakewalk: Celebrated Live From The House of Fame, which also featured a number of jazz musicians from the North - Kim Macari, Katie Patterson, Peter Lee, Dave Walsh and Linder's son, Max Sterling.

Saturday's event is free to attend but booking is essential.

Book tickets for The Ultimate Form.