Ellington Orchestra: New Orleans Suite

6.30pm - Support
7.30pm - Main show

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire's Ellington Orchestra is delighted to return after their summer break to play the famous New Orleans Suite, originally commissioned for the 1970 New Orleans Jazz Festival. This work has great significance for Ellingtonians, as lead alto star Johnny Hodges died shortly after the first recording session; the band having to record the second session without him.

This work also provides proof of the calibre of Ellington's creative output in his later years, confounding critics who thought he had perhaps become formulaic since the collaborative years with Billy Strayhorn.