Guildhall Jazz Orchestra: The Music of Bill Russo

In the second of two joint performances, Guildhall Jazz Orchestra and Morley College Jazz Orchestra present the music of American composer, arranger and trombonist Bill Russo, featuring guest soloist trumpeter Henry Lowther.

A major figure in the third-stream movement, seeking to find common ground between jazz and classical music, Bill Russo established his “London Jazz Orchestra” while working for the BBC in London during the early 1960s. As well as adapting works that he had previously scored for the Stan Kenton band, and composing fresh material for this new London ensemble, Russo taught and fostered a new generation of musicians also represented in tonight’s programme. Among them was Gordon Rose, trumpeter and leading Musical Director (London Palladium, BBC etc), who in 1965 had the foresight to preserve the unique LJO library and use it to found Morley Jazz Orchestra (which Rose continued to direct until 2014).

Scott Stroman directs Guildhall Jazz Orchestra and Richard Pywell directs Morley College Jazz Orchestra in a performance, which features Russo's arrangements for the Stan Kenton band as well as compositions made during his time in the UK. This performance will also feature original music by Richard Hewson, Kenny Wheeler, Richard Peaslee, Gordon Rose, and Fred Karlin.

Programme will be first performed in Morley College on Friday 20 October.