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Cherry Pop

Title - We’re Still Here
Artist - NYO Jazz

Carnegie Hall today announced the release of NYO Jazz’s first full-length studio album, We’re Still Here, featuring Artistic Director and Bandleader/trumpeter Sean Jones and special guest Melissa Aldana on tenor saxophone, plus an appearance by trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, available on June 24th, 2022.

The album will be released by Platoon and will be available for digital download and on all streaming platforms in standard and Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio formats.

One of Carnegie Hall’s three acclaimed national youth ensembles, NYO Jazz—comprising outstanding young musicians ages 16–19 from across the United States—showcases the legacy and bright future of American jazz.

Created in 2018 by the Hall’s Weill Music Institute, NYO Jazz annually brings together some of the nation’s finest teen jazz musicians to train, perform, and tour with world-class jazz masters while also serving as music ambassadors for their country.

“You close your eyes and think they’re all 20 years older than they are,” said Sean Jones who pays it forward through his passionate leadership of NYO Jazz, carrying on the tradition of mentorship in jazz.

We’re Still Here features four new works written for the band since its inception, a range of classic and contemporary charts that are hallmarks of its live concerts, and works exploring themes that include social justice, resilience, and the power of music to spark joy.

The four Carnegie Hall-commissioned works on the album are: “Run with Jones” by Miguel Zenón, featuring Melissa Aldana as soloist; “Mr. Jones and Co.” by Ayn Inserto, featuring Jones as soloist; “Fête dans la Tête” by John Beasley; and “RPM’s” by Igmar Thomas.

In addition to these commissions, among the album highlights include: “We’re Still Here” by—and featuring—trombonist and NYO Jazz faculty member Wycliffe Gordon, which has become the band’s rousing encore theme song; hence, the album’s title; “The Art of War” by Ralph Peterson; “Oyelo” by Zenón, featuring Aldana as soloist; “A Taste of Honey” by Duke Pearson; “Mr. Gentle and Mr. Cool” by Duke Ellington, arranged by NYO Jazz ensemble coach Reginald Thomas; and “Transitions” by Jones.

The album—recorded during the ensemble’s summer 2021 training residency at Purchase College, State University of New York, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic—is a declaration of resilience and longevity.

A summer that began with the disappointment of a year without touring evolved into the opportunity to create this 97-minute showcase of the incredible artistry and enormous versatility of this remarkable ensemble, a recording poised to reach audiences around the world just as the ensemble resumes touring this summer 2022 (US tour dates to be announced this spring).

1. Oyelo (Miguel Zenón)
2. Mr. Jones and Co. (Ayn Inserto; 2019 NYO Jazz commission)
3. Bedouin (Duke Pearson)
4. We’re Still Here / He’s Alright (Wycliffe Gordon)
5. Fête dans la tête (John Beasley; 2020 NYO Jazz commission)
6. Mr. Gentle and Mr. Cool (Duke Ellington and Laura Rembert, arr. Reginald Thomas)
7. RPM’s (Igmar Thomas; 2021 NYO Jazz commission)
8. Run with Jones (Miguel Zenón; 2018 NYO Jazz commission)
9. Cute (Neal Hefti)
10. The Art of War (Ralph Peterson)
11. Transitions (Sean Jones)

Produced by NYO Jazz Artistic Director Sean Jones and recorded at The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College, this vibrantly heartfelt new album opens on the euphoniously-crafted, organically-grown Oyelo and the frenzied skittle-skattle of Mr. Jones and Co. and then we get the delicate gossamer of the veritably shimmering one minute, triumphant and standing tall the next Bedouin, the counted in, playfully fun and eagerly animated We’re Still Here / He’s Alright and then the keen bounce of Fête dans la tête.

Up next is one of my own personal favorites from this new recording, the laid low, at first, then boldly resolute musical jousting within Mr. Gentle and Mr. Cool and that is itself backed by the gently frenetic, deliriously smooth RPM’s, the cultured jazz of Run with Jones, the album rounding out with the finger-snapping, toe-tapping melodies of Cute, the trumpet-led magnificence of The Art of War, closing on the triumphant rhythms and layered, melodic harmonies within Transitions (Sean Jones).

“We’re thrilled for NYO Jazz to release its debut album this spring—the first recording by any of our national youth ensembles,” said Sarah Johnson, Chief Education Officer and Director of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. “It’s a tremendous opportunity for these gifted young players to train, perform, and now record alongside some of today’s leading jazz artists including special guest Melissa Aldana.”

“It was especially meaningful for the musicians to gather for an extended residency last summer as it marked the first time many of them had the opportunity to come together to play in a full ensemble since the start of the pandemic.”

“With We’re Still Here, we are proud to showcase the incredible depth of talent and high level of musicianship of these standout jazz musicians from across the country who will help ensure one of America’s quintessential art forms is preserved for generations to come.”

“The big band has always been America’s orchestral format and one of the most wide-ranging ensembles ever devised,”

said Jones, NYO Jazz’s Artistic Director and Bandleader. “It can convey nearly any style of music in a sonically stimulating and interactive way. This recording exhibits that diversity by placing classics by Duke Ellington and Neil Hefti alongside pieces that utilize the big band as a vehicle for contemporary American music and represent a wide variety of genres.”

This summer, NYO Jazz embarks on its first-ever US tour after performing at Carnegie Hall on July 28, 2022, with special guest vocalist Jazzmeia Horn. It follows successful international tours by NYO Jazz including a 2018 inaugural European tour with Dianne Reeves as special guest, and the ensemble’s debut tour to Asia in 2019 with Kurt Elling as special guest.

Although NYO Jazz was unable to travel during the past two years, the musicians convened virtually during the summer of 2020 and at Purchase College, just north of New York City, in summer 2021, rehearsing and recording a wide range of repertoire, including this debut album.

Melissa Aldana appears courtesy of Blue Note Records.

Wycliffe Gordon appears courtesy of BluesBack Records.

Official Purchase Links

www.carnegiehall.org





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