Hailing from Carnegie Hall in New York, NYO Jazz (National Youth Orchestra Jazz)​ brings together the finest young jazz musicians from across the United States and stands as one of today’s most vibrant and representative youth jazz big bands. The Telegraphhas praised their performances as “astonishing, not only in terms of technical prowess but also in the maturity of musical style,” while The Times, reviewing the orchestra’s appearance at London’s Royal Albert Hall, noted: “You could be fairly sure you were hearing the sound of future jazz stars.”

 

On August 11, 2026, NYO Jazz will take the stage with NEA Jazz Master and three-time Grammy winner Dee Dee Bridgewater​ to present a jazz feast that seamlessly blends timeless classics with bold innovation.

 

Programme
Universal Love
Galapagos
Quintessence
Little Pixie
In A Mellow Tone
Li'l Darlin'
Roll 'Em
So What
Can't Hide Love
Second Balcony Jump
Strength in Numbers
We're Still Here
*Yes or No
*A Shift West

*The Danger Zone
*Throw It Away
*If You Want Me To Stay
*Cottontail
*Basin Street Blues
*Afro Blue

 

*Program is subject to change

 

 

Dee Dee Bridgewater stands among the preeminent jazz vocalists of her generation, boasting a remarkably diverse, four-decade career that defies categorization. Renowned for her distinctive interpretations of jazz standards and daring reimaginings of canonical works, she is both a fearless innovator and a steadfast guardian of the jazz tradition. A three-time Grammy Award winner, her most recent triumph came with Eleanora Fagan (1915–1959): To Billie with Love from Dee Dee Bridgewater, which earned the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album.

Bridgewater’s artistry thrives on cross-genre collaboration. She launched her professional career with the legendary Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra and spent much of the 1970s performing alongside jazz giants including Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1993, she released the critically acclaimed Keeping Traditionas an independent production, later founding her own label, DDB Records, in 2006, under a manufacturing and distribution partnership with Universal Music Group. Her celebrated discography includes the two-time Grammy-winning tribute Dear Ellaand Dee Dee’s Feathers, recorded with the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra and released on Sony Masterworks’ OKeh Records imprint. She also signed trumpeter Theo Croker to the DDB roster.

Beyond the concert stage, Bridgewater has enjoyed a distinguished theatrical career. She won a Tony Award in 1975 for her portrayal of Glinda in The Wiz, with additional stage credits including Sophisticated Ladies, Black Ballad, Carmen, and Cabaret. Her performances in the Off-Broadway and West End productions of Lady Dayearned her a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. Most recently, she participated in the Broadway workshop of Anna Deavere Smith’s Ella.

Appointed a FAO Goodwill Ambassador in perpetuity, Bridgewater has long championed global anti-hunger initiatives. Her numerous honors include designation as an NEA Jazz Master (2017), the ASCAP Foundation Pioneers of American Music Award, the Doris Duke Artist Award, and induction into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame. She is also Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of The Woodshed Network.