This July and August  Carnegie Hall’s critically-acclaimed national youth jazz orchestra, NYO Jazz, led by artistic director/trumpeter Sean Jones, returns for its seventh season of extraordinary music-making and embarks on its first-ever tour to South Africa from 22 July to 5 August.

 This remarkable ensemble, created by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI) in 2018, annually brings together 22 of the most outstanding teen jazz musicians from across the United States to train, perform, and tour with some of the world’s greatest artists while also serving as music ambassadors, sharing America’s greatest artform with audiences around the globe. 

This year, vocalist Alicia Olatuja— who has been praised by The New York Times as “a singer with a strong and luscious tone,” joins NYO

For NYO Jazz’s 2024 concerts, Carnegie Hall has commissioned a new work, titled ISIGQI SUITE, by South African composer Sibusiso Mash Mashiloane which he noted “showcases the essence of South African jazz and the profound emotional connection to our collective musical heritage.” 

The ensemble’s diverse program will also include big band classics by Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, and Mary Lou Williams; a new big band arrangement from Terri Lyne Carrington’s project “New Standards: 101 Lead Sheets by Women Composers”, Lakecia Benjamin’s “Trane,” arranged by Jhoely Garay; and other contemporary pieces, showcasing jazz as a living and limitless art form.

Following a concert by NYO Jazz at Carnegie Hall in New York on 20 July, the ensemble will depart for their South African tour 

The highly anticipated visit to local shores includes debut performances in:

 Johannesburg (The Market Theatre on 26, 27 & 28 July)

 Durban (The Playhouse on 1 August)
 
 Cape Town (Artscape on 2 & 3 August).

For NYO Jazz’s 2024 concerts, Carnegie Hall has commissioned a new work, titled ISIGQI SUITE, by South African composer Sibusiso Mash Mashiloane which he noted “showcases the essence of South African jazz and the profound emotional connection to our collective musical heritage.” 

The ensemble’s diverse program will also include big band classics by Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, and Mary Lou Williams; a new big band arrangement from Terri Lyne Carrington’s project “New Standards: 101 Lead Sheets by Women Composers”, Lakecia Benjamin’s “Trane,” arranged by Jhoely Garay; and other contemporary pieces, showcasing jazz as a living and limitless art form.

 
NYO JAZZ – 2024 SOUTH AFRICA TOUR

The Market Theatre, Johannesburg
 
Friday, 26 July at 7pm
Saturday, 27 July at 3pm and 7pm Sunday, 28 July at 7pm
NYO JAZZSean Jones, Artistic Director and Bandleader/Trumpet
with Special Guest:
Alicia Olatuja, Vocals
and featuring South African artists:
Linda Sikhakhane, Saxophone (26 July at 7pm and 27 July at 3pm)
Romy Brauteseth, Bass (27 July at 7pm and 28 July at 3pm)

The Playhouse, Durban Thursday, 1 August at 7pm NYO JAZZ
Sean Jones, Artistic Director and Bandleader/Trumpet
with Special Guest:
Alicia Olatuja, Vocals
and featuring South African artists:
Afrika Mkhize, Piano
as well as the Shine Jazz Ensemble, directed by Dr. Natalie Rungan

 
Artscape, Cape Town
 
Friday, 2 August at 7pm
Saturday, 3 August at 3pm and 7pm

NYO JAZZ
Sean Jones, Artistic Director and Bandleader/Trumpet

with Special Guest:
Alicia Olatuja, Vocals

and featuring South African artist: Muneeb Hermans, Trumpet
Book at Webtickets 

 
What the Press Have Said About NYO Jazz

“The NYO Jazz ensemble, stocked with ambitious young players under the leadership of the trumpeter Sean Jones, tackles an intriguing program.” —The New Yorker

“…the ensemble sound was crisp, the rhythm section supple and swinging. As eloquent solos unfurled, you could be pretty confident you were hearing some stars of tomorrow.” —The Times (London)
(Four-star review)

 NYO Jazz’s 2024 South Africa Tour is produced by Arte Viva Management.