On Tuesday 30th November 2021, Oxford University Jazz Orchestra and Freud present the first instalment of ‘Back in Sync’, OUJO’s residency for 2021-2022! Come along to Walton Street on Tuesday of 8th Week to grab a cocktail, relax in the beautiful setting of Freud, and let the Oxford University Jazz Orchestra give you a taste of what is to come in the Back in Sync series…

Tickets: £5 online (now available! – get them here), £6 on the door (cash only).

Doors open 7.30pm, music from 8.00pm. Dress code: smart casual. Also see the Facebook event!

For the first time in three years, OUJO travel to Cambridge on Friday 26th November (7th Week) to take on our other half in a big band varsity match to remember! Battle will commence at 7pm at at the West Road Concert Hall.

Tickets can be found here, and more information on the Facebook Event!

OUJO kick off the new year at the Mad Hatter from 8.00pm on Tuesday 9th November (5th week)! Tickets will be £3.50 on the door – more information here.

We’re delighted to announce ‘World on a String’ — our concert at the Sheldonian on Monday of 8th week! We’re collaborating with the wonderful Oxford University Orchestra’s strings to bring you an evening of jazz, from classic Sinatra and Fitzgerald numbers to pieces written and arranged especially. Tickets are on sale now, from as little as £5.

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/oxforduniversityjazzorchestra/t-gmgvke

We’re bringing our residency at FREVD into the new decade with a ‘Roaring 20s’ theme! Get glammed up and ready to dance the night away to some classic swing numbers – OUJO’s outstanding reputation and plenty of drinks guarantee this to be a very special evening.

Doors Open 8pm

Tickets £5 standard, £6 on the door

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/oxforduniversityjazzorchestra/t-jplvqv

Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1108169759525269/

THE JAZZ-OFF IS BACK!!

We’re very excited to announce this year’s DURHAM vs OXFORD varsity big band event, Durham University Big Band will be coming down on 7th Feb! You can find tickets here, it’s coming up fast so make sure to get them before they go!! Thanks to Music and Jazz at St Giles for hosting us, this promises to be a good one.

More information can be found on the Facebook event page.

**OUJO AND THE OXFORD GARGOYLES COLLABORATION**

13th June (Thursday Week 8) 8pm
Magdalen College, Grove Auditorium
Students £7/General Admission £10

Commissioned by Oxford University Jazz Orchestra and the Oxford Gargoyles, ‘The Floating Boy’ is a thrilling and moving suite for big band and voices composed by Harry Baker, Oxford graduate and former MusicalDirector of the Gargoyles. Set to poetry by Max Thomas and poets through the ages, ‘The Floating Boy’ is a testament to the hopes, joys and sorrows of growing up, exploring themes of childhood dreams, young love, grief and acceptance. This exciting work – and the rare collaboration between two of Oxford’s foremost jazz ensembles – is not one to be missed: head on down to Magdalen Auditorium at 8pm on 13th June for a one-off experience!

HARRY BAKER is a pianist and composer with an equal passion for classical performance and for jazz and improvisation. A key player on the UK jazz scene, Harry has featured as a bandleader and sideman at the 606 Club, Pizza Express Jazz Club and The Empire Bar. As a composer and arranger of choral and vocal music, he has written works for the Choirs of Merton and Magdalen College Oxford, SANSARA chamber choir, and the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, with whom he is a Young Composer.

On Friday 8th February, we’re absolutely delighted to welcome the Durham University Big Band to the Magdalen College Grove Auditorium for the annual OUJO x DUBB jazz-off. Come and hear two of the UK’s best student bands play a huge range of big band rep, from classic swing to hip-hop, latin to neo-soul. DUBB come to us on top form having recently released a fantastic new EP ‘Twenty’, and we look forward t0 hearing them play tunes from that and a lot more this coming Friday – get your tickets here!

*TICKETS RELEASED* 

A Love Supreme – John Coltrane’s masterpiece arranged for jazz orchestra by the virtuosic Wynton Marsalis, performed on the 16th of February by OUJO, the Oxford University Jazz Orchestra.

Mark Armstrong, leading UK jazz trumpeter and Artistic Director of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO), joins the band as they peform the European premier of Marsalis’s arrangement of this jazz epic. Originally composed by Coltrane as a tribute to God after his journey out of substance abuse, the “symphonic poem in four parts” deals with musical a landscape of emotional and spirtual breadth what words could not describe. Demanding incredible virtuosity across all members of the band, this performance will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience one of jazz’s greatest triumphs.

In the first half, the band will also perform a variety of jazz orchestra and big band music, ranging from popular jazz standards performed by their fantastic vocalists to classic rep from Mingus, Basie, Niehaus.