★★★★☆There was no warm-up: the teenaged musicians of NYO Jazz plunged headlong into one of Duke Ellington’s trickiest charts, buoyed presumably by the confidence of youth plus intensive tuition. The frenetic bustle of Braggin’ in Brass from 1938 features breakneck trumpet and a precision salvo from the trombones that have flummoxed lesser troupes. But these players acquitted themselves in style; the ensemble sound was crisp, the rhythm section supple and swinging. As eloquent solos unfurled, you could be pretty confident you were hearing some stars of tomorrow.
This year’s lone jazz Prom at the Royal Albert Hall featured 16 to 19-year-olds selected from across the States for a hothouse summer course in New York followed by an international tour. Their late-night set celebrated nearly
© Times Media Limited 2023.
Registered in England No. 894646. Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF.