25 & 26 JANUARY 2018

SCOTTISH NATIONAL JAZZ ORCHESTRADIRECTED BY TOMMY SMITH

AMERICAN JAZZ MASTERS: GERSHWIN BERNSTEIN ELLINGTON

THE MUSIC OF MANCINI & MANDEL SPECIAL GUEST JOE LOCKE

JAZZ LEGACY OF CHARLES MINGUS SPECIAL GUEST ARILD ANDERSEN

SPONSORWe would like to extend special thanks to our main sponsors, Creative Scotland and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland for their continued support of the orchestra. de

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Scotland’s National Jazz Orchestra is delighted to be appearing at Ronnie Scott’s this week, offering you a varied selection of great big band music.

Over two nights, and three very different concerts, the SNJO will showcase versatility and invention with their featured artists, pianist Brian Kellock, drummer Alyn Cosker, vibraphonist Joe Locke and bassist Arild Andersen.

Our chosen programmes include specially commissioned, re-invented arrangements of pioneers whose names are etched into jazz history: George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Henry Mancini, Johnny Mandel, as well as the classic repertoire of Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus.

We do hope you enjoy your evening.

25/01 AMERICAN JAZZ MASTERS: GERSHWIN, BERNSTEIN, ELLINGTON26/01 THE MUSIC OF MANCINI & MANDEL 1ST SHOW SPECIAL GUEST JOE LOCKE

26/01 JAZZ LEGACY OF CHARLES MINGUS 2ND SHOW SPECIAL GUEST ARILD ANDERSEN

SNJO ALBUMS

AVAILABLE HERE TONIGHT OR AT SPARTACUSRECORDS.COM & ECMRECORDS.COM

The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra (SNJO) was founded by Tommy Smith in 1995 with a crystal clear artistic vision and has grown into an internationally recognized big-band. Year on year, the SNJO delivers varied and challenging programmes to the four corners of Scotland and introduced the wider world, through our recordings, to the potency of jazz talent in Scotland.

Since its inception, many legends in the world of jazz have enthusiastically shared the stage with the SNJO. Iconic musicians such as Gary Burton, John Scofield, Branford Marsalis, and Kurt Elling have all joined the orchestra to explore virtually every room in the house of jazz.

The SNJO’s diverse repertoire has included vivid re-imaginings of works by the great names of jazz

including Basie, Mingus, Monk, Miles and Coltrane. They have also recorded expressive interpretations of Gershwin, Miles Davis, Mozart and Duke Ellington, and their most recent CD features Tommy Smith’s original work; Beauty and the Beast, recorded live in Scotland with American saxophonist Bill Evans. Each project and concert series has contributed to the SNJO’s growing international reputation as a modern orchestra that commands both respect and admiration worldwide.

We look forward to sharing news of the SNJO with you as we move towards our 25th anniversary in 2020. So, if you have enjoyed our concert, please do sign up at snjo.co.uk to keep up to date, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Michael S. Clark

SCOTTISH NATIONAL JAZZ ORCHESTRADIRECTED BY TOMMY SMITH

snjo.co.uk theSNJO snjo2

PRO

GRAM

ME 25/01

THE ORCHESTRAREEDS Martin Kershaw, Helena Kay, Tommy Smith, Konrad Wiszniewski, Bill Fleming

TRUMPET James Davidson. Sean Gibbs, Tom MacNiven. Lorne Cowieson

TROMBONES Kieran McLeod, Liam Shortall, Kyle MacCorquodale, Tom Dunnet (set 1 only)

RHYTHM Brian Kellock (piano)Calum Gourlay (bass)Alyn Cosker (drums)

SET 1Rhapsody in Blue (Gershwin) arranged by Tommy Smith

SET 2West Side Story (Bernstein) arranged by Florian Ross

Black & Tan Fantasy (Ellington/Miley)Daybreak Express (Ellington)In The Hall of the Mountain King (Grieg) arranged by Duke Ellington

Anitra’s Dance (Grieg) arranged by Billy Strayhorn

Rockin’ in Rhythm (Ellington/Mills/Carney)Single Petal of a Rose (Ellington)Charlie Is My Darling (Burns) arranged by Florian Ross

Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue

Gershwin’s masterpiece has been arranged and re-interpreted in countless ways since its official premiere in 1924, not least - as here - by Tommy Smith. Brian Kellock leads from the front on piano, with the SNJO and its soloists in fiery form, as Tommy Smith directs the band with style and precision. Jazz fans that are split between devotion to the original and the impact of the new may find themselves in uncommon accord by the end of a forward-facing performance that pays tribute to musical genius.

Bernstein: West Side Story

The SNJO plays a wonderful medley of Leonard Bernstein’s most enduring tunes chosen from his memorable jazz musical, West Side Story, and specially arranged for our orchestra by Florian Ross.

As a makeover of Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story works on a visceral level that Shakespeare would surely recognize. Bernstein’s music explored emotions as deep as the ocean, sentiment as raw as sunburn, and energy as boundless as youthful abandon. This could describe the very essence of jazz and these selections from West Side Story remain as relevant, vibrant and provocative to this day.

Ellington

Duke Ellington, one of the world’s greatest-ever jazz musicians, has left a musical legacy that spanned six decades. In this warm tribute to a legend, the SNJO will endeavour to remain as true as possible to the spirit of the Duke. Brian Kellock assumes the Ellington role on piano and brings with him the experience, exuberance and flair for which he his so widely admired.

AMERICAN JAZZ MASTERS: GERSHWIN, BERNSTEIN, ELLINGTON

In 1995, Joe Locke released the album Moment To Moment, offering a fresh new look at the works of Mancini. Since then, he’s led regular residencies celebrating Mandel and Mancini at NYC’s Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Joe Locke is widely considered to be one of the major voices of the vibraphone as a performer, composer and recording artist. He is also an accomplished arranger and a respected jazz educator.

Joe is in high demand as a soloist, band leader and producer across multiple genres, and has composed and arranged for the Airmen of Note, the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra and the Jazz Band Classic of the New York Youth Symphony amongst many others. PR

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E 26/011ST SHOW

THE ORCHESTRAREEDS Martin Kershaw, Helena Kay, Tommy Smith, Konrad Wiszniewski, Bill Fleming, Yvonne Robertson (flute)

TRUMPET James Davidson. Sean Gibbs, Tom MacNiven. Lorne Cowieson

TROMBONES Kieran McLeod, Liam Shortall, Richard Foote, Kyle MacCorquodale

RHYTHM Peter Johnstone (piano)Calum Gourlay (bass)Alyn Cosker (drums)

Moment to Moment (Mancini) arranged by Joe Locke

Two for the Road (Mancini) arranged by Joe Locke

Suicide Is Painless (Theme from M.A.S.H) (Mandel) arranged by Bill Dobbins

Shadow of Your Smile (Mandel) arranged by Joe Locke

Verrazano Moon (Locke) arranged by Joe Locke

Pink Panther (Mancini) arranged by Geoffrey Keezer

Few composers have navigated the tricky waters between jazz and popular music with greater finesse than Henry Mancini and Johnny Mandel. Both grew up with the sound of the big bands ringing in their ears at a time when American households were “glued to the radio”. Both men forged successful careers in cinema and television, yet neither musician ever traded in their jazz credentials nor sacrificed quality for quantity. The tingle of delight that everyone feels upon hearing the opening bars of the Pink Panther theme or the unfolding flower of Mandel’s The Shadow of Your Smile are a reminder to any young composer that they ought to have fun with music.

THE MUSIC OF MANCINI & MANDEL

SPECIAL GUEST JOE LOCKE

PRO

GRAM

ME 26/012ND SHOW“I am Charles Mingus. Half-black man. Yellow

man. Half-yellow. Not even yellow, nor white enough to pass for nothing but black and not too light enough to be called white.” Mingus’ quote from the documentary film Triumph of the Underdog is typically frank and particularly telling.Mingus’ music is as volatile, unpredictable and utterly unique as its creator. Like Mingus himself, it is also subject to sudden changes in mood, tempo and seismic shifts in structure and organization. It presents the kind of challenge that top musicians like Arild Andersen, Tommy Smith and the SNJO are ready, willing and able to meet head-on.

Arild Andersen was a young bassist learning his craft in Norway when he first became aware of the force of nature that was Charles Mingus. Andersen was in the audience in Oslo for Mingus’ watershed European tour, and the experience left a lasting impression.It’s perhaps no coincidence that Andersen, an elder statesman of European jazz, is known today as a strong leader, and that his approach to the upright bass comes stamped with a highly personal identity.

Haitian Fight Song arranged by Sy Johnson

Fables of Faubus arranged by Steve Slagle

Goodbye Pork Pie Hat arranged by Sy Johnson

All The Things You Could Be By Now If Sigmund Freud’s Wife Was Your Mother arranged by Christian Jacob

Duke Ellington’s Sound of Love arranged by Tommy Smith

Opus 4 arranged by Boris Kozlov

Gunslinging Bird arranged by Steve Slagle

THE ORCHESTRAREEDS Martin Kershaw, Helena Kay, Tommy Smith, Konrad Wiszniewski, Bill Fleming

TRUMPET James Davidson, Tom MacNiven, Lorne Cowieson

TROMBONES Kieran McLeod, Liam Shortall, Kyle MacCorquodale

RHYTHM Peter Johnstone (piano)Alyn Cosker (drums)

JAZZ LEGACY OF CHARLES MINGUS

SPECIAL GUEST ARILD ANDERSEN

COMING SOON

KENNY WHEELER’S SWEET SISTER SUITE / THE MUSIC OF MARY LOU WILLIAMS

&TEXT ADAPTED BY LIZ LOCHHEAD AND NARRATED BY TAM DEAN BURN

PETER AND THE WOLF

PETER AND THE WOLF

THE SCOTTISH NATIONAL JAZZ ORCHESTRA

featuringMAKOTO OZONE

presents

THE CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALSTHE CARNIVAL

OF THE ANIMALS

NEXT CONCERT SERIES

MUSIC ARRANGED BY TOMMY SMITH & MAKOTO OZONE

FRI 23 FEB: DUNDEE CAIRD HALL 01382 434 940 dundeebox.co.uk

SAT 24 FEB: EDINBURGH QUEEN’S HALL 0131 668 2019 thequeenshall.net

SUN 25 FEB: GLASGOW ROYAL CONSERVATOIRE 0141 332 5057 rcs.ac.uk

20 April Glasgow Royal Concert Hall 21 April Aberdeen The Sanctuary at Queens Cross22 April Edinburgh Queen’s Hallvisit snjo.co.uk for more information