After its recent work on George Gershwin, TEJO is now proposing for the 2022-2023 season another monographic performance, this time on Duke Ellington (1899-1974), following the natural trajectory of musicological and philological research which the Orchestra has continuously pursued in the 20 odd years of its activity. In fact, after basing the historical nucleus of its repertoire on the Roaring 20’s and the famous “Cotton Club” in Harlem, it is essential to pay homage to the man who is considered the greatest composer and bandleader in the entire history of jazz, whose first major concerts took place in that very same Club in 1927. Ellington thus contributed towards projecting jazz away from its origins which are closer to the interests of TEJO, to its most modern and familiar forms, becoming a true milestone in the history of music, to the extent that the late great trumpeter Miles Davis stated that every musician ought to sincerely thank him.

The orchestra will be joined by its historical crooner, Paolo Venier, accompanied by the Sophisticated Ladies, an exceptional female vocal trio composed of the young and talented Jasna Gornik, Rosa Mussin and Sara Roversi. The orchestra is directed by Maestro Tom Hmeljak, a Triestino composer who also wrote the vocal arrangements. In addition to being played and sung, the music will be danced to by Greta Rizzotti, a graduate from the Luthier School of Barcelona – con sidered to be the European hub of Tip Tap – and now a teacher at the Toc Toc School of Trieste.

The project has been realized by the Associazione Culturale NuovaMultimusica, thanks to the support of the Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia.