NYO Jazz Performs Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s “Isfahan” with Bandleader Sean Jones

In the final concert of NYO Jazz’s 2018 European tour, Sean Jones leads the band in a performance of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s “Isfahan” at Konzerthaus Berlin. Alto saxophone soloist Kevin Oliver, Jr., is featured in this ballad.

In the summer of 2018, gifted young jazz musicians from across the country came together to study with world-class jazz masters during the inaugural season of NYO Jazz. A completely free program for all participants, NYO Jazz gives young musicians the opportunity to perform as cultural ambassadors on an international stage and share a uniquely American musical genre with cultures around the world through an international tour each summer. Trumpeter Sean Jones—one of the field’s outstanding performer-composer-educators—served as soloist and bandleader for NYO Jazz’s Carnegie Hall debut and inaugural European tour, which included performances in the Netherlands, Germany, and Great Britain. World-renowned jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves and critically acclaimed trombonist Wycliffe Gordon joined NYO Jazz as special guest artists for the ensemble’s Carnegie Hall debut. Ms. Reeves was also featured as a guest artist on the tour to Europe.