The Calgary Jazz Orchestra
Get ready, jazz lovers! The Calgary Jazz Orchestra (CJO) is thrilled to announce an electrifying 2024/2025 season that promises to sweep you off your feet with the best in jazz entertainment. This year, we're bringing you an unforgettable 5-show package that will captivate your senses and leave you craving more. From timeless classics to innovative new themes, each performance is crafted to deliver an unparalleled musical experience. This season, we will introduce brand-new, never-before-released themes. While we can't reveal all the details just yet, expect the unexpected as we explore new musical landscapes and innovative arrangements. Rest assured, we will be bringing annual favourites with our homage to the legendary Frank Sinatra, a "Perfectly Frank Christmas" and our annual Valentine's-themed show "The Art of Soul and Romance".
Director's Cuts—After 20 years of the Calgary Jazz Orchestra performing memorable and show-stopping music, our director, Johnny Summers, has curated a selection of his favorite music designed to inspire and engage our audience once again.
Africa Suite—We will premiere Johnny Summers's new work, which was composed for the Calgary Jazz Orchestra, and African musicians fusing the music and traditions of Africa with the music and traditions of the Calgary Jazz Orchestra.
The World premiere of The Africa Suite composed by our artistic director Johnny Summers is a musical journey you will love. Johnny’s process to writing this, after being inspired by hearing a great Calgary based, Nigerian artist was to immerse into as many styles of traditional African music from the acapella music from the Zulu people, across many countries to the Afro-Beat music originating in Nigeria by Fela Kuti, to its sound today. Much of African music rhythm was inspired by early Spanish music, with some being influenced by Miles Davis, and many of the American Soul acts of the 60’s and 70’s.
Johnny Summers has created a 6 movement work that moves through all of these styles and the classic African influenced cinematic sound, with music and themes steeped in Joy & Hope, and as he says “The word beautiful kept speaking to me, just beautiful, and I kept hearing uplifting themes though writing this new suite, in a celebratory way, I’m sure tied into the excitement of achieving 20 years with this incredible team, audience and sponsors”
Written for the Calgary Jazz Orchestra, vocalists, and a mixture of African drums and percussion instruments, we can’t wait for you to hear this uplifting new work.
The first half of the concert will be an entirely different musical experience, ranging through many styles, sounds and eras, from the lesser known, to as obvious as the music of Disney. Johnny and the musicians of the CJO revisit original orchestrations they have performed and brought to life celebrating an unbelievable accomplishment of 20 years of concert series built specifically for the city we love.
Director's Cuts—After 20 years of the Calgary Jazz Orchestra performing memorable and show-stopping music, our director, Johnny Summers, has curated a selection of his favorite music designed to inspire and engage our audience once again.
Africa Suite—We will premiere Johnny Summers's new work, which was composed for the Calgary Jazz Orchestra, and African musicians fusing the music and traditions of Africa with the music and traditions of the Calgary Jazz Orchestra.
The World premiere of The Africa Suite composed by our artistic director Johnny Summers is a musical journey you will love. Johnny’s process to writing this, after being inspired by hearing a great Calgary based, Nigerian artist was to immerse into as many styles of traditional African music from the acapella music from the Zulu people, across many countries to the Afro-Beat music originating in Nigeria by Fela Kuti, to its sound today. Much of African music rhythm was inspired by early Spanish music, with some being influenced by Miles Davis, and many of the American Soul acts of the 60’s and 70’s.
Johnny Summers has created a 6 movement work that moves through all of these styles and the classic African influenced cinematic sound, with music and themes steeped in Joy & Hope, and as he says “The word beautiful kept speaking to me, just beautiful, and I kept hearing uplifting themes though writing this new suite, in a celebratory way, I’m sure tied into the excitement of achieving 20 years with this incredible team, audience and sponsors”
Written for the Calgary Jazz Orchestra, vocalists, and a mixture of African drums and percussion instruments, we can’t wait for you to hear this uplifting new work.
The first half of the concert will be an entirely different musical experience, ranging through many styles, sounds and eras, from the lesser known, to as obvious as the music of Disney. Johnny and the musicians of the CJO revisit original orchestrations they have performed and brought to life celebrating an unbelievable accomplishment of 20 years of concert series built specifically for the city we love.
