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

The Big-Band Pioneers
Big Band

When jazz players moved from the streets of New Orleans to larger, orchestrated ensembles, a new period of music began: the Big-Band Swing era. Rooted in the early years of the Depression, the sounds of the big bands provided a welcome source of entertainment and escape for America and the world, and for a decade defined the popular music of the day.

Among the earliest pioneers of the style were Duke Ellington, Chick Webb, Bennie Moten, and Charlie Barnet, and this SJMO concert pays homage to them and other band leaders, musicians, and composers who created an exciting art form capable of limitless dynamic and expressive qualities.

This program is subject to change.