The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra is delighted to welcome the outstanding American vocalist Jazzmeia Horn on her first visit to Scotland for three nights of spellbinding vocal artistry and enthralling orchestral jazz. In this concert series, a big band meets a big voice, but both will be bringing mind, body and soul to the art of performance.
Jazzmeia Horn is the foremost jazz singer of her generation and very much a voice for our times. Musically, she has journeyed through jazz history from its earliest beginnings, absorbing every nuance, influence and inflection along the way. It is an approach that has made her one of the most articulate and relevant voices in improvisational music.
Anyone hearing Jazzmeia Horn for the first time will be struck by several things at once. There is explosive power, raw emotion, boundless energy, great strength and consummate control. Yet, there is something else. It is identity and it commands your attention. That much has already been recognized with a GRAMMY Award nomination for her debut album, A Social Call.
It would be a lapse into cliché to say that Jazzmeia Horn’s music speaks for itself. She has, in any case, explained her relationship with jazz herself, and in the clearest possible terms;
When I’m scatting, I don’t think about a horn player, I just become the horn player. ~ Jazzmeia
The SNJO’s acknowledged elegance and commitment to emancipated expression perfectly matches the bravura artistry of Jazzmeia Horn. The scope of their collective vision is self-evident in a set-list featuring sparkling new arrangements by Bill Dobbins. The selections include affectionately re-imagined standards such as I Remember You and Darn That Dream, alongside a bittersweet romance in The Peacocks. Also featured is Jazzmeia’s recent composition Free Your Mind, which appears on her recently released 2nd album Love and Liberation on Concord Records.
We confidently predict that Jazzmeia Horn, in live performance with the SNJO, will be among the most memorable events of the jazz year, just about anywhere. But, don’t take our word for it. Come and hear for yourself. Prepare to be amazed, to be moved and to be uplifted, but be there!
Friday 22nd November 2019 at 7.30 p.m. Perth Concert Hall
Saturday 23rd November 2019 at 7.30 p.m. Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (New Auditorium)
Sunday 24th November 2019 at 7.30 p.m. Edinburgh Usher Hall