CHARLES MINGUS’ THE BLACK SAINT AND THE SINNER LADY

Our ground-breaking collaboration with acclaimed dance company CLOD Ensemble removes the fourth wall and invites the audience to join the dancers as the Orchestra perform Mingus’ seminal work.

“It’s a different way of listening, getting inside the music with gentle guidance and expressive freedom. In the crowd, patterns are set in viral motion, and it’s a delight to be caught up in it, swept up in a wave with the simple pleasure of synchrony, community, and great music.” The Guardian

THE STUART HALL PROJECT

Experience the Nu Civilisation Orchestra performing the soundtrack of The Stuart Hall Project live at a film screening.

Given the current global backdrop of conflicting identity politics, John Akomfrah’s (The Nine Muses, Handsworth Songs) 2013 portrait of Stuart Hall, the Jamaican-born public intellectual and co-founder of the New Left Review, is profoundly relevant.

Hall’s work on cultural identity and race helps unpack the complexities of belonging in multicultural societies.

As the film unfolds—layered with archival footage, Hall’s voice, and poignant reflections—the NCO ensemble breathes life into Miles Davis’s music with stunning precision and emotional depth. The live performance doesn’t just accompany with Akomfrah’s provocative documentary; it builds a dimension, intensifying the dialogue with the audience.

CTI RECORDS REVISITED

A journey through the sounds of CTI Records, possibly one of the most influential jazz labels of all time. 

CTI was founded in 1967 by record producer Creed Taylor, who worked extensively with the legendary jazz producer Rudy Van Gelder to create an astounding catalogue of recordings featuring some of the biggest names on the scene.  Nu Civilisation Orchestra will be digging into the CTI vaults and performing tunes by some of its greatest artists, including Idris Muhammad, Freddie Hubbard, Milt Jackson, Eumir Deodato, Bob James and more.

The CTI cannon of work is immense, shaping a new jazz wave in the 70s, influencing the jazz funk movement and living on in the samples of some the greatest hip hop artists of the 90s and beyond (De La Soul, Tribe Called Quest, MC Solaar, the list goes on).

DUKE ELLINGTON: CELEBRATING THE MASTER

Nu Civilisation Orchestra was borne out of a shared love of the music of Ellington and as a platform to perform his almost lost work The Queen’s Suite.

Since then, and led by bassist and Artistic Director for the NCO Gary Crosby’s passion for the Duke’s incredible compositional elegance, the Orchestra’s repertoire has grown to include:

New Orleans Suite, Queen’s Suite, Sacred Music, Far East Suite, Black Brown and Beige, and A Tone Parallel to Harlem.

“Ellington is a unique composer and bandleader. It’s not just the quality of his arrangements, he brings a humanity to his writing that is unlike anyone else. It’s tempting to say that there’s Ellington and then the rest is a bag of noise!” Dr Gary Crosby OBE, Artistic Director, Nu Civilisation Orchestra

STAN GETZ and EDDIE SAUTER’S FOCUS with DENYS BAPTISTE

Getz’s and Sauter’s Focus is a truly elegant ‘third stream’ creation, the near-perfect balance between jazz and classical music.

Award-winning saxophonists Denys Baptiste joins a 15-piece orchestra to re-imagine this seminal jazz work. With a 13-piece string section following the original Sauter arrangements, Denys will be improvising within the space of the composition in much the same way Getz did for the original studio recordings.

Saxophonist Denys Baptiste was part of with Gary Crosby’s Nu Troop before releasing debut album, Be Where You Are, in 1999. The album was was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize and won the MOBO award for Best Jazz Act the same year. Baptiste’s third album Let Freedom Ring! received multiple award nominations securing his reputation as an outstanding musicians on the UK jazz scene.

“The evening was therefore a wonderful display of musical creativity as well as a celebration of Tomorrow’s Warriors’ extraordinary contributions to the UK jazz scene over the past three decades.” JazzWise

MARVIN GAYE’S WHAT’S GOING ON

The 24-piece orchestra, conducted by Peter Edwards, reflects on our current times through the lens of Marvin Gaye’s iconic recordings.

‘What’s Going On’ was recorded and released in 1971 and Gaye’s masterpiece gave voice to a generation, as it reflected on the violence and turmoil of America with laser-sharp precision. Widely recognised as one of the most important albums of all time, 50 years later ‘What’s Going On’ continues to resonate with the inequality, struggle and uncertainty of the modern day. 

“Nu Civilisation Orchestra played this seminal body of work with all the soul and spirit the record merits, in a performance that was both inherently faithful to the album, but still unique.” The Arts Desk