Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s Duke Ellington Orchestra plays Afro Bossa

Returning to our format of two sets of Ellington/Strayhorn music, the Conservatoire’s Ellington Orchestra gives a second outing to the material from the famed Afro Bossa album. Afro-Bossa was the first release of Ellington’s for Reprise Records, newly contracted in 1963, and was part of an Ellington/Strayhorn continuing exploration of world music sounds. Ellington scholar Harvey G Cohen describes it as “Layered percussion along with mysterious and lovely muted-horn arrangements combined to create one of Ellington’s best albums of all time, modern yet sometimes faintly reminiscent of the “jungle jazz” of the Cotton Club days."

The first set will be a selection of favourite Ellington repertoire chosen by the band members. The second set will be Afro Bossa.