Boldly Beyond Big Band

The Ottawa Jazz Orchestra (OJO), based in Ottawa and founded in 2005, brings together many of Canada’s finest professional jazz and symphony orchestra musicians under the direction of bassist Adrian Cho. This unique ensemble has garnered kudos from both critics and audiences for its highly entertaining, innovative and educational presentations of seminal jazz-centric music performed by a wide range of ensembles including small chamber jazz groups, repertory orchestras, neophonic orchestras and a full symphonic jazz orchestra. Each year the OJO performs a full season of concerts at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre.

The OJO’s broad repertoire of music includes original compositions; the gamut of jazz and pre-jazz repertory from as far back as 1850; and jazz-influenced neoclassical works. This extends far beyond what most typical big bands perform. Over the years, the OJO has performed a huge range of seminal jazz music including the major Gil Evans and Miles Davis suites, Johnny Richards suites, Duke Ellington suites, and more. The OJO specializes in authentic performance of early swing music including Ellington’s music of the Cotton Club as well as third-stream music in its many forms.