From silence, music is born: composer Miho Hazama, guitarist Rob Luft and the BBC Concert Orchestra take a very personal journey into their shared jazz roots.

She’s been called ‘a breath of fresh air’, and Miho Hazama is one of the most energising (and talked-about) figures in contemporary jazz.

Best-known for her work with Metropole Orkest, for this show she brings the BBC Concert Orchestra to the EFG London Jazz Festival, joining guitarist (and former BBC New Generation Artist) Rob Luft in a programme as eclectic and as vibrant as Hazama herself.

Expect a freewheeling journey through multiple musical worlds, from Toshiko Akiyoshi to Duke Ellington.

That journey also goes by the way of a newly commissioned electric guitar concerto from Luft himself: ‘a homage’, he says, ‘to some of my idols of 20th-century British jazz – musicians such as Kenny Wheeler, John McLaughlin and Dave Holland.’ Iconic names: and they’ve never been in more stimulating company.

Performers
BBC Concert Orchestra
Miho Hazama conductor
Rob Luft guitar

Programme:
Miho Hazama: Minamino Bo
Rob Luft: Guitar Concerto (From Silence, Music is Born)
Interval
Toshiko Akiyoshi: Long Yellow Road
Ellington: Peanut Brittle Brigade from Nutcracker Suite (after Tchaikovsky) arr. Miho Hazama for orchestra