What's On

Musical Maestros and the Birth of Swing

Join us for the 23Arts Hot Jazz Weekend’s main event: Musical Maestros and the Birth of Swing, a spectacular celebration of three legends who helped shape the sound of jazz.

MC’ed by the renowned, Pittsburgh-based performance poet, Orlando Watson, and supported by The New York Jazz Sextet, Musical Maestros will be an unforgettable evening of collective celebration as we pay homage to jazz improvisation across the world.

Joining Watson and Sextet as featured guests, we are thrilled to welcome London-based tap dancer Annette Walker and Armenian star soprano Anush Hovhannisyan. 

This event finished on Saturday 31 May 2025

Location: Theatre

Age Recommendation: Suitable for all ages

Duration: 110 minutes, including an interval

Musical Maestros and the Birth of Swing. A collection of jazz musicians playing a mixture of instruments live on stage with colourful lighting

More About This Event

Join the Musical Maestros and the Birth of Swing for an unforgettable night celebrating three legends of jazz

Experience the magic as the New York Jazz Sextet, along with special guests, bring to life the rich musical legacy of Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and George Gershwin.

This show will dive deep into the genius of Ellington while honouring the centennial of Armstrong’s Hot Five and the UK premiere of Gershwin’s iconic Rhapsody in Blue with a specially commissioned new arrangement.

Spoken word artist and poet Orlando Watson will act as your MC and you can expect an engaging blend of music, tap, song and storytelling that will transport you to the heart of the Jazz Age. Don’t miss this chance to celebrate these three maestros who revolutionised music and continue to inspire the generations that have followed them!

Musicians

Dominick Farinacci

Bandleader & trumpet

Patrick Bartley, Jr.

Saxophone & clarinet

Mathis Picard

Piano

Jerome Jennings

Drums

Christian Tamburr

Vibraphone

Yasushi Nakamura

Bass

Guest performers

Orlando Watson

Performance poet

Shenel Johns

Vocalist

Annette Walker

Tap dancer

“What came next was the most thoroughly deserved ovation I can remember hearing at a jazz event…an extended round of applause accompanied by the stamping of feet: we had loved it!”

Simple Jazz Talk Blog

Similar shows

  • Ladies of the blues. A black female singer on a stage in a gold glitter dress standing behind a. microphone

    Ladies of the Blues

    Sunday 1 June | 14:00 - 15:10

  • A night in Harlem. Two jazz musicians on a stage, one playing the trumpet the other smiling in the background

    A Night In Harlem

    Friday 30 May | 20:30 - 21:40

  • Hackney Colliery band - a group of 12 people all dressed in white facing the camera, sitting a differnt heights holding musical instruments

    Hackney Colliery Band

    Saturday 14 June | 20:15 - 21:30

  • Close up of Martin Hayes. A man playing the violin in a black shirt with long hair wearing glasses

    Martin Hayes Trio

    Sunday 1 June | 17:30 - 19:00

Nevill Holt Festival

The festival will continue to present a varied and rich programme of events in addition to opera that includes a wide range of talks and ‘in conversation’ events on visual art, culture, history, politics, wellbeing, sport and design as well as jazz, classical and world music performances, family events and comedy. See the full programme here. 

With panoramic views that look out over three counties, performance venues include the estate’s medieval chapel and award-winning theatre, with idyllic gardens designed by Chelsea gold medal winner, Rupert Golby. Festival-goers can enjoy outstanding pieces of modern British sculpture throughout the gardens, including works by Antony Gormley, Rachel Whiteread, Allen Jones and Marc Quinn