The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra (SJMO), led by artistic director and conductor Charlie Young, presents another spectacular concert series delving into jazz’s greatest works and performers, playing in small ensembles or as full orchestra.
The 2014–15 season marks a 9-year partnership with the Smithsonian Associates, as well as the launch of a 5-year initiative to collect, present, and celebrate the works and legacies of jazz icons and innovators.
“The SJMO is renowned for reviving classic jazz tunes with an engaging blend of fidelity and finesse,” says the Washington Post. Jazz Times hails the group’s “vitality and skill,” and the New Yorker calls it "the best jazz repertory band in the country."
Don’t miss a chance to hear this orchestra, founded in 1990 with an appropriation from Congress in recognition of jazz’s importance in American cultural life. What other national treasure can claim to be as cool?
To learn more about the orchestra and the 2014-2015 season, click here.
CONCERT PROGRAM
Chasin' the Trane: John Coltrane
Small Ensemble
John William Coltrane, also known as “Trane,” was one of the greatest jazz soprano and tenor saxophonists of the 20th century, performing with some of the most influential musicians of his time. In this concert, the SJMO surveys Coltrane’s work as a musician and composer during his tenure with Miles Davis in the late 1950s, leading to the birth of his own quartet in 1960.
This program is subject to change.
