NOVEMBER 22, 2019, 8:00 PM Edmonds Center for the Arts.

Pre-Concert lecture 7:30PM Jason Turner, Northwest African American Museum

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SRJO continues its celebrated Harlem Renaissance series, which features fantastic music from the 1920s and 1930s, played as it was originally created, and performed with original instrumentation. Guest vocalists Reggie Goings and Jacqueline Tabor from the Seattle jazz scene also join us to pay tribute to singers Bessie Smith (“Empress of the Blues”), Ivie Anderson and others. The program includes early hits by the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra, such as Harlem Shout and Big John Special, plus The Stampede and Hotter Than 'Ell  by Fletcher Henderson, and hits by Cab Calloway (Minnie the Moocher) and Fats Waller. Special guest speaker Jason Turner from the NW African American Museum will share insights in a pre-concert lecture (7:30PM) about the history and personalities of this important period in the development of American culture. SRJO’s Harlem Renaissance concerts sell out quickly, so get your tickets now! Tickets still available at www.edmondscenterforthearts.org

DECEMBER 28, 2019 7:30 PM - Town Hall Seattle 

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Join us for the world’s longest running presentation of Duke Ellington’s sacred music, presented in partnership with Earshot Jazz. This December, SRJO again welcomes to the stage special guest vocalist, Dr. Stephen Newby, faculty member at Seattle Pacific University. Also returning for this year’s concert is vocalist Nichol Veneé Eskridge (who is featured on SRJO’s Sacred Music of Duke Ellington CD), plus tap-dancer dancer (and SRJO saxophonist) Alex Dugdale, and the Northwest Chamber Chorus under Director Mark Kloepper. Don’t miss this holiday performance of works drawn from Ellington’s three Sacred Concerts featuring blues, gospel, and jazz pieces that the Duke considered some of his most important creations. This popular show frequently sells out, so buy your tickets.  Tickets are available at www.earshot.org.

JANUARY 26, 2020 2:00 PM Kirkland Performance Center

FEBRUARY 1, 2020 3:00 PM Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall

FEBRUARY 1, 2020 7:30 PM Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall

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Seattle chanteuse and SRJO audience favorite, Jacqueline Tabor (winner of Earshot 2018 “Best NW Vocalist” award and the 2011 Seattle-Kobe “Jazz Queen” competition), joins SRJO in a salute to one of jazz music’s most influential voices, “Lady Day.” Selections include classics recorded by Holiday, such as Lover Man, Them There Eyes, God Bless the Child and There Is No Greater Love, plus several instrumental hits from other bands that played during the span of Holiday’s career.

FEBRUARY 16, 2020, 7:00 PM Edmonds Center for the Arts

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This concert promises to be swingin’ as SRJO plays pieces from the first famous meeting of the two greatest big bands in jazz history: the Count Basie and Duke Ellington orchestras. Selections from their classic 1961 album, “First Time! The Count Meets the Duke,” include the swinging Blues in Hoss’ Flat, the beautiful To You, the exotic Wild Man Moore, the exciting Battle Royal, and of course the Duke’s theme song, Take the 'A' Train. Two of our great saxophonists, Travis Ranney and Mark Taylor, face off in a classic tenor battle with Neal Hefti’s Whirly Bird and we round out the show with other hits recorded by each band. Join SRJO as we show how these supreme giants of the jazz world were so different from one another, yet were so equally gifted.

APRIL 4, 2020 7:30 PM Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall

APRIL 5, 2020 2:00 PM Kirkland Performance Center

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Superstar of the tenor saxophone Joshua Redman joins the SRJO in a concert of his own compositions and his favorite jazz classics, paying tribute to the greats of the tenor saxophone and more. He has released more than 20 albums as leader (on Warner Bros. and Nonesuch records) and has been featured on albums and tours with numerous leading jazz artists such as Chick Corea, Elvin Jones, Joe Lovano, Pat Metheny, Christian McBride, Cedar Walton, Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins. The son of famed tenor saxophonist Dewey Redman, Joshua was the winner of the 1991 Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition, gaining him immediate worldwide attention. His first album as a leader was released in 1993, and earned him his very first GRAMMY nomination (and several other nominations have followed). Since then, his work with the Joshua Redman Quartet, the Elastic Band, the SFJAZZ Collective, The Bad Plus, and even the New Zealand Symphony, has brought him critical acclaim around the globe. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear the SRJO with one of the leading jazz artists of our time.

JUNE 13, 2020 7:30 PM Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall

JUNE 14, 2020 2:00 PM Kirkland Performance Center

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Join SRJO for what will certainly be one of the region’s top artistic events of the year: the premiere of a new work that we have commissioned from six-time GRAMMY winner Christian McBride. He was the undisputed star of SRJO’s 2016-17 concert season and is recognized as one of the greatest bassists of our time. He is a dominant contributor to the New York jazz scene, the host of NPR’s national weekly show Jazz Night in America, and a leading figure on today’s international jazz stage, performing with such groups as Wynton Marsalis’ Jazz at Lincoln Center and the bands of Herbie Hancock, Sonny Rollins, and Chick Corea, plus his own fabulous trio that has repeatedly thrilled audiences at sold-out concerts in Seattle. Don’t miss this virtuoso of the double bass as we invite him back to Seattle and Kirkland for a concert of his favorite big band music, and the premiere of what will become a major new addition to the jazz repertoire.