JMI Jazz Orchestra plays Duke Ellington's New Orleans Suite

Co-hosted by Brisbane International Jazz Festival

For the 2025 Brisbane International Jazz Festival the JMI Jazz Orchestra will pay tribute to Duke Ellington by performing his New Orleans Suite in its entirety. The suite consists of 9 pieces of music, 5 of which were commissioned to be premiered at the inaugural New Orleans Jazz Festival in 1970, and 4 more pieces that were added for the studio recording of the album New Orleans Suite later that year.

This suite is one of Ellington’s last large works and showcases an artist whose nearly 60-year career traversed essentially the entire history of Jazz at this point. We can hear early blues, some of Ellington’s signature swing era style, and a jazz waltz. The flute and bass clarinet are deployed extensively, and we are reminded of Ellington’s long-running affinity for the warmth of the clarinet. There are the sounds of soul music, gospel and echoes of Hendrix (who died the same year) showing Ellington open-mindedness in moving with the musical times. 

The album New Orleans Suite won the Grammy for Best Jazz Performance by a Big Band in 1971 and is a testament to Ellington’s assertion that “There are simply 2 kinds of music, good music and the other kind. The JMI Jazz Orchestra hopes you can join us for this special event and what is likely the first time this suite has been performed in Brisbane as part of this year’s BIJF.

GIG DETAILS:

Monday 13th October 2025

$20 Entry (+GST & BF)

Doors open from 7:30pm

Music starts at 8pm

ALL AGES (people under 18 need to be accompanied by a guardian)

LICENSED BAR