NYJO’s office describes the late singer Amy Winehouse as “undoubtably one of the greatest musical talents to come out of the UK. Her unmistakable character, vocal dexterity and masterful songwriting made her a pop icon”.
She sang briefly with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra before fame beckoned, and the band now honours her with a fairly large tour, running from 10 September 2021 to 26 March 2022.
The concerts will be “reimagining hits and revisiting early works she sang with the 24-piece National Youth Jazz Orchestra as a promising 16-year-old singer, back in 2000”, say the organisers.
The musical director will be trombonist Winston Rollins, the arrangements by Olivia Murphy and the lead singer, effectively filling Winehouse’s shoes, will be NYJO lead vocalist Lucy-Anne Daniels.
The dates are: 14.10.2021 • Lighthouse, Poole. 04.11.2021 • Oxford Town Hall, Oxford. 06.11.2021 • St Georges, Bradford. 28.11.2021 • Cambridge Jazz Festival, Cambridge Junction, Cambridge. 14.01.2022 • Saffron Hall, Saffron Walden. 20.01.2022 • Garrick Theatre, Lichfield. 21.01.2022 • Royal & Derngate, Northampton. 10.02.2022 • The Fire Station, Sunderland. 11.02.2022 • Band On The Wall, Manchester. 20.02.2022 • Derby Theatre, Derby. 27.02.2022 • Leicester, TBC. 02.03.2022 • Truro, TBC. 10.03.2022 • Portsmouth Guildhall, Portsmouth. 13.03.2022 • RWCMD, Cardiff. 26.03.2022 • The Civic, Barnsley. More details at nyjo.org.uk/gig-calendar