Westchester County lies just north of New York City and is home to a great number of extraordinary jazz musicians. The sixteen-piece WJO was created to showcase these professionals in their home county. A nonprofit organization, we performed our first concert
at the Irvington Town Hall Theater on October 14, 2003.
The New York Times noted in September 2010 that WJO “has built a reputation for deeply researched, strikingly executed performances that is reaching well beyond the orchestra’s home county to the country at large.” In March 2011, we were selected by WNYC, New York’s flagship public radio station, as a STAR Initiative participant, receiving on-air promotion and website support. And, after our September 2011 concert, a Huffington Post review concluded, “You must make it your business to see ... WJO ... this year.”
The Orchestra was founded by Executive Director Emily Tabin and two musicians who left the band in 2004 and 2007 respectively. Mike Holober has been our artistic director/conductor since early 2007.
In August 2011, we released our second CD, Maiden Voyage Suite, a project funded in part with a $10,000 grant from the Aaron Copland Fund for Music. MVS has been on the national radio airplay chart, JazzWeek, for 11 weeks, peaking at #8. Reviews call the CD “a new jazz classic,” "as near perfection as one could wish for," and “one of my favorite 2011 releases.” WBGO-FM, the major jazz radio station for the New York metropolitan area, selected Maiden Voyage Suite for the station’s “CD of the Month Club” for October 2011 and it is a WBGO "Top Pick" for November/December.
WJO’s debut CD, All In, first thrust us into the national spotlight. The recording was included on multiple “Best CDs” lists. Reviewers praised WJO as “setting a standard in big band modern jazz” and “hugely impressive” while lauding the CD as “an expertly woven and thrilling collection” and “endlessly compelling.” All In peaked at #4 in national radio airplay, finishing at #50 in JazzWeek’s Top 100 Jazz CDs of 2008.
These two very special CD projects grew out of our concert seasons, to which we dedicate the majority of our budget and efforts. Both recordings contain arrangements that we commissioned and premiered during our regular season performances.
Our season concerts are theme-based and feature world premieres of WJO-commissioned arrangements. With well over 145 such new arrangements in our book, we are making a significant contribution to the development of big band jazz. We have created fresh and modern takes on the compositions of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Wayne Shorter, George Gershwin, Horace Silver, Joe Henderson, John Scofield and Michael Brecker and more contemporary composers including Stevie Wonder, Sly Stone, the Beatles and Paul Simon.
In 2009-10 , we commissioned and premiered our first original work, "Flow: In Celebration of the Hudson River," a three-movement suite composed by Mike Holober. Our thanks go to NYSCA for funding the creation of this beautiful and moving piece. You can watch the 3d movement, "Harlem," on YouTube.
WBGO Music Program Director and Morning Show Host Gary Walker hosts our concerts. Guest artists have included Joe Lovano, Randy Brecker, John Scofield, John Patitucci, Houston Person, Janis Siegel, Kate McGarry, Dick Oatts, Nicole Pasternak and Loryn Altsher.
Our advisory board, formed in early 2008, includes trumpeter Randy Brecker, saxophonist Joe Lovano, pianist/composer Jim McNeely, bassist John Patitucci, saxophonist Houston Person, bassist Rufus Reid and WBGO’s Gary Walker.
In our education programs, we conduct workshops at high schools across Westchester. We have also adjudicated, taught and performed at multi-school jazz festivals and brought financially disadvantaged youth their first live jazz concerts. Our annual workshop for teachers receives top ratings.
“Do something for yourself – catch ‘em live,” says Gary Walker. “It’s the art and passion of jazz at its finest.”
