Archived performance
Performance details
31 May 2019 at 7.30pm
1 June 2019 at 7.30pm
Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall
Presented by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in association with Melbourne International Jazz Festival. The 2019 Melbourne International Jazz Festival runs from 31 May – 9 June.
Featuring
Troy Miller conductor
Laura Mvula vocalist
José James vocalist
About the performance
Embraceable You, Someone to watch over me, Summertime; the Gershwin songbook boasts some of the greatest love songs ever written.
Covered by everyone from Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan to Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Janis Joplin, these treasured tunes will be given an intoxicating re-imagining with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra this June.
Featuring the incredible vocals of Laura Mvula, and American jazz and hip hop artist José James, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra will perform a series of George Gershwin works as interpreted by conductor, composer, producer, and musician Troy Miller.
Penned as the Nina Simone of our generation, Laura Mvula is known for her velvety, emotional vocals. Her style is an inventive, atmospheric mix of R&B, jazz, classical, and pop which has won her commercial and critical acclaim across the globe.
Singer, songwriter José James combines R&B, soul and the spoken word to create his own unique brand of vocal jazz. His latest release is a tribute to the legendary Bill Withers entitled, Lean on Me.
“Framed by Miller’s clever arrangements — rousing strings, dynamic percussion, moments of quiet lushness — Mvula’s voice mesmerised and often astounded.”
- London Evening Standard.
Troy Miller’s rare multi-instrumental, compositional, conducting and producing talents have seen him work with such orchestras as the BBC Philharmonic, the London Symphony and the Netherland Radio Philharmonic. As a drummer, he has performed with Amy Winehouse, Chaka Khan and Donna Summer.
The multi-faceted talents of these three artists alongside the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, performing great works from the Gershwin songbook, promises to be a night to remember.
