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NYO Jazz: We're Still Here

By Jack Bowers
October 14, 2022
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The "NYO" in NYO Jazz is shorthand for National Youth Orchestra, a marvelous concept that should be cloned and shipped to as many cities, towns and villages as possible. NYO, comprising carefully chosen musicians, ages 16 to 19, from across the U.S.A. is based at Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute in New York City, and We're Still Here marks its first full-length recording.

The NYO's artistic director is trumpeter, composer and educator

Sean Jones

trumpet
b.1978

" data-original-title="" title="">Sean Jones who is featured on Ayn Inserto's "Mr. Jones and Co." and

Miguel Zenon

saxophone, alto
b.1976

" data-original-title="" title="">Miguel Zenon's "Run with Jones." Others making guest appearances are tenor saxophonist

Melissa Aldana

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Melissa Aldana ("Run with Jones," Zenon's "Oyelo") and trombonist

Wycliffe Gordon

trombone
b.1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Wycliffe Gordon (his own boisterous "We're Still Here/He's Alright"). Jones wrote the scorching finale, "Transitions." The rest of the program is broad and ambitious, encompassing themes by

Duke Pearson

piano
1932 - 1980

" data-original-title="" title="">Duke Pearson ("Bedouin"),

John Beasley

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">John Beasley ("Fete dans la tete"),

Duke Ellington

piano
1899 - 1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Duke Ellington ("Mr. Gentle and Mr. Cool"), Igmar Thomas ("RPMs"), Ralph Peterson Jr. ("The Art of War") and

Neal Hefti

trumpet
1922 - 2008

" data-original-title="" title="">Neal Hefti's

Count Basie

piano
1904 - 1984

" data-original-title="" title="">Count Basie classic, "Cute."

The orchestra is given a vigorous workout on the thorny "RPMs," wherein there are no solos, only arduous tests for brass, reeds and rhythm, which NYO passes with flying colors. Here, as elsewhere, listeners would be hard-pressed to deduce that these remarkable musicians were teenagers. But they were, at least when We're Still Here was recorded in 2021. The artistry continues on the fast-moving "Run with Jones," sections of which resemble Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's mercurial "Flight of the Bumblebee." Even so, it is one of the slower-paced numbers, "Mr. Gentle and Mr. Cool," which emerges as a definitive highlight, thanks in part to exemplary solos by (and exchanges between) trumpeter Kellin Hanas and violinist Gianna Pedregon.

That is but one highlight among many, as the NYO is laudable from start to finish, as are its well-schooled soloists. Drummer Colman Burks, on brushes, and trumpeter Cameron Davidson are especially engaging on "Cute," which precedes the propulsive "Art of War" and chops-wrenching "Transitions." It is a pity that not all of the improvisers can be named; suffice to say that none of them is less than impressive, nor is NYO as an ensemble, in what it is hoped will be the first of many superlative youth-centered recordings upholding and enriching the time-honored tradition of American big-band jazz.

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Track Listing

Oyelo; Mr. Jones and Co.; Bedouin; We��re Still Here/He��s Alright; Fete dans la tete; Mr. Gentle & Mr. Cool; RPMs; Run with Jones; Cute; The Art of War; Transitions.

Personnel

Sean Jones

trumpet

Melissa Aldana

saxophone

Wycliffe Gordon

trombone

Cameron Davidson

trumpet

Kellin Hanas

trumpet

Jonah Hieb

trumpet

Nathan King

saxophone

Levi Rozek

trumpet

Ace Williams

trumpet

Ebban Dorsey

saxophone, alto

Connor MacLeod

saxophone, alto

Emre Tekmen

saxophone, alto

Ephraim Dorsey

saxophone, tenor

Matthew Garcia

saxophone, tenor

Noa Zebley

saxophone, baritone

Gianna Pedregon

violin

Braxton Hart

trombone

Denali Kauffman

trombone

Oliver Tuttle

trombone

Kenji Wagner

trumpet

Additional Instrumentation

Darien Baldwin: bass trombone; Tyler Bullock II, Hannah Mayer: piano; Kai Burns: guitar; Aidan McCarthy, Ryoma Takenaga: bass; Colman Burks, Koleby Royston: drums.

Album information

Title: We're Still Here | Year Released: 2022 | Record Label: Self Produced

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