Kicking off a year of special projects to mark Tomorrow’s Warriors at 25, we’re delighted to announce the start of our ambitious national schools programme, The Jazz Ticket, devised in association with our partners, Turner Sims and Southampton Music Hub celebrating the centenary of the birth of six Giants Of Jazz: composer Tadd Dameron, vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, pianist Thelonious Monk, drummer Buddy Rich, and percussionist Mongo Santamaria.
Throughout 2017, Tomorrow’s Warriors will deliver The Jazz Ticket in 54 schools in Southampton, Luton, Leicestershire, Manchester, Gateshead, Brighton, Bristol, Hull and London, and engage almost 600 young people as performers and many more as audience members.
The Jazz Ticket will give young musicians aged 11-18 throughout the country the opportunity to work with leading jazz professionals and develop their performance and improvisation skills, whilst exploring the history of the genre and six of its pioneering artists born 100 years ago. It will also help us share the great work of Tomorrow’s Warriors with new audiences, enabling more young people and their families to enjoy and engage with jazz created and performed by artists from diverse backgrounds.
Fish Krish, Head of Special Projects at Tomorrow’s Warriors says:
“We aim to inspire young people and give them the opportunity to explore jazz and their own creativity whilst celebrating these six extraordinary jazz artists who have had such a huge and lasting impact on the genre.”
The Jazz Ticket is delivered in partnership with leading venues and music hubs in nine regions across England, with generous support from Arts Council England’s Strategic Touring Fund. Each participating school will work with Tomorrow’s Warriors music leaders on newly-arranged compositions associated with one of the jazz giants.
Our Jazz Ticket music leader team comprises of our brilliant alumni: saxophonist Binker Golding, pianists Ben Burrell and Dian Gasper, bassist Alex Davis, trumpeter Sheila Maurice-Grey and vocalist Cherise Coryna.
Says Kevin Appleby, Concert Hall Manager at Turner Sims:
“Built on a simple idea – how to celebrate the centenaries of six jazz legends – The Jazz Ticket is a great opportunity not only for Turner Sims to showcase young talent as part of our international jazz series but to take some wonderful music and artists into schools. I’m excited to hear the results as the project develops.”
Kath Page, Head of Southampton Music Hub which helped kick off rehearsals at schools in the area said:
“We are delighted The Jazz Ticket project has come to Southampton – that it is the first one of many around the country makes it even more special. This is a fantastic, inclusive project enabling children from KS1-5 to become immersed in the six giants of Jazz from 1917. Working side by side with professional musicians and their peers is inspirational and will I’m sure prove to be aspirational for the future. This once again proves that partnership projects are indispensable – huge thanks to Tomorrow’s Warriors and Turner Sims from Southampton Music Hub and here’s to future projects!”
The project culminates in a series of concerts in prestigious arts venues open to all schools in the area, featuring The Jazz Ticket schools, alongside Tomorrow’s Warriors’ flagship professional jazz ensemble, the Nu Civilisation Orchestra. Among other works, the orchestra will perform a brand new work for big band: A Journey with the Giants of Jazz by award-winning pianist/composer, Peter Edwards, commissioned by Turner Sims in partnership with Tomorrow’s Warriors and generously supported by PRS for Music Foundation’s New Music Biennial.
Adds Fish Krish:
“The Jazz Ticket helps us to connect regions and cross generations in celebration of an art form that continues to inspire and hold relevance for contemporary audiences and new musicians.”
The premiere of The Jazz Ticket takes place at Turner Sims in Southampton on 16 March 2017.
Further dates of the other concerts are being finalized and will be confirmed shortly. For more information and tickets visit The Jazz Ticket website.
Meantime, you can stay on track with the The Jazz Ticket by following us on:
Twitter @Tom_Warriors
Instagram @Tom_Warriors
#jazzticket2017
Well done everyone. What an opportunity for all those young people participating in the celebration of some of the greatest musicians in musical history.