Danish Radio Big Band

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Courtesy Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech

For over 50 years, the Danish Radio Big Band has been a driving force in Copenhagen’s thriving jazz scene, earning its reputation as one of the world’s most dynamic and innovative ensembles.

Now led by Grammy-nominated composer Miho Hazama, one of the most promising and talented young composers and arrangers of her generation, the Danish Radio Big Band brings its powerhouse sound to the stage alongside Cécile McLorin Salvant — a three-time Grammy-winning jazz vocalist, composer, and fearless storyteller. Salvant, known for her electrifying interpretations and genre-defying artistry, returns to the center after her unforgettable 2023 debut.

Danish Radio Big Band

The Danish Radio Big Band (DR Big Band), often referred to as the Radioens Big Band, is a jazz big band founded in Copenhagen in 1964, when the Copenhagen jazz scene was particularly active and the city was regularly visited by prominent jazz artists from the U.S. Originally called the New Radio Dance Orchestra, in the early years the band was led by Ib Glindemann. Over the next few decades, many new faces joined — a succession of striking bandleaders, musicians, and guest soloists such as Chris Potter — all of whom helped to develop the band into the experienced ensemble whose record releases and concerts have a devoted following all over the world. 

Cécile McLorin Salvant

Cécile McLorin Salvant developed a passion for storytelling and finding the connections between vaudeville, blues, folk traditions from around the world, theatre, jazz, and baroque music. Salvant is an eclectic curator, unearthing rarely recorded, forgotten songs with strong narratives, interesting power dynamics, unexpected twists, and humor.

Salvant won the Thelonius Monk competition in 2010. She has received Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Album for three consecutive albums — The Window, Dreams and Daggers, and For One to Love — and was nominated for the award in 2014 for her album, WomanChild. In 2020 Salvant received the MacArthur fellowship and the Doris Duke Artist Award. Her album, Ghost Song, was released in March 2022 to critical acclaim and has gone on to receive two Grammy nominations.

Salvant’s latest work, Ogresse, is a musical fable in the form of a cantata that blends genres (folk, baroque, jazz, and country). Salvant wrote the story, lyrics, and music. It is arranged by Darcy James Argue for a 13-piece orchestra of multi-instrumentalists.

Miho Hazama

In 2019 Miho Hazama took up the post as the Danish Radio Big Band's chief conductor, following Thad Jones, Bob Brookmeyer, and Jim McNeely, to name a few. Hazama released the first album featuring Danish Radio Big Band, Imaginary Visions, in 2021.

Lauded in Downbeat as one of “25 for the Future”, Hazama developed her signature jazz chamber orchestra, m_unit. Now having three full-length releases on Universal Music Japan/ Sunnyside Records, she has written for and expertly showcased the abilities of guest artists such as Joshua Redman, Lionel Loueke, Christian McBride, and Gil Goldstein. Dancer in Nowhere, the third album for m_unit, was nominated for a Grammy.

Composition is Hazama's true calling, and in addition to her effort with m_unit, she has created works for many different musical contexts. Most notably, she has composed for Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra (JP), Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (SE), Metropole Orkest (NL), to name a few.

TICKETS: Category A - $65 | Category B - $45 | Category C - $25 | Students with ID/Youth 18 and under - $10

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