NYO Jazz: Live in Johannesburg

In the summer of 2024, trumpeter/music director Sean Jones and Carnegie Hall's prodigious NYO (National Youth Orchestra) packed their bags and headed overseas for a tour of South Africa, pausing at one of that country's historic landmarks, the Market Theatre, on July 26-28 to present three days of impressive concert performances that thankfully were taped and preserved on this marvelous two-disc compilation, Live in Johannesburg.

If these twenty-two young musicians represent any sort of barometer, the future of big-band jazz assuredly rests in capable hands. Carnegie Hall, and especially Sean Jones, its enterprising artistic director for jazz, deserve a hearty round of applause for sponsoring the NYO and allowing its young members to undertake productive trips such as this one. The NYO is a beneficiary, but so are its audiences who are fortunate enough to observe the future of mainstream jazz as it unfolds before their eyes.

The scope of music presented by the NYO is wide, covering multiple styles and eras from, Duke Ellington, Mary Lou Williams, Thelonious Monk and Frank Foster to film classics ("A Time for Love," "Over the Rainbow") and fresh works by Billy Childs, Lakecia Benjamin, Angela Bofill, Wycliffe Gordon, South African composer Sibusisu Mash Mashiloane and guest vocalist Alicia Olatuja. While the centerpiece of Disc 1 is Mashiloane's polyrhythmic "Isigqi Suite," the unquestioned highlight is the orchestra's ten-minute-plus reading of Monk's "Evidence," a quirky yet endearing anthem highlighting no less than eight soloists, including guest tenor saxophonist Linda Sikhakhane.

That disc opens with Ellington's dynamic theme from the 1955 film The Blackboard Jungle and includes Benjamin's propulsive "Trane" (featuring alto saxophonist Miriam Goroff-Behel), Childs' powerful "Rejoice," and a star turn by music director Jones on Johnny Mandel's "A Time for Love." Olatuja makes her first appearance midway through Disc 2 and sings on the next four numbers, starting with her own compositions, "The Confession" and "Kadara," followed by "Over the Rainbow" and Bonfils' soulful "Under the Moon and Over the Sky." The NYO wraps things up with Gordon's robust "'We're Still Here/He's Alright" (a colorful showcase for Jones and the ensemble) after opening the set with Williams' high-flying "New Musical Express" and Foster's classic "Shiny Stockings," an indispensable component in the Count Basie band's playbook from the mid-'50s onward.

The NYO punches above its weight on every number, as do the youthful and talented soloists from several States who must pass muster via rigorous auditions to earn a place in the orchestra's starting lineup. Live in Johannesburg offers a colorful snapshot of NYO at its best, and as such is easily recommended to jazz fans of every age and viewpoint.

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