Piano virtuoso Makoto Ozone joins the acclaimed Scottish National Jazz Orchestra for a unique recording that vividly re-invents Mozart's 9th Piano Concerto as a contemporary jazz classic.

"An album that will surely delight open minded jazzers and classicists alike." Bebop Spoken Here

"The whole recording brims with life-affirming virtuosity and wit." ★★★★★ Jim Gilchrist, Scotsman

"It's a clever, sympathetic and truly musical example of the treacherous art of jazz/classical cohabitation."
★★★★ John Fordham, Guardian

"There have been several instances where jazz musicians have arranged classical music for a host of different ensembles with varying results. For this reviewer, this is the most successful yet."
John Marley, York Press

"The fireworks fly as Ozone plots a path between the elegance of 18th-century Vienna and the swing of 20th-century America."
The Times

"This is a genuinely exciting work, and I'd love to see it performed live in London at some stage."
London Jazz News

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A major new CD release from the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra (SNJO) directed by Tommy Smith, and featuring virtuoso pianist Makoto Ozone, offers discerning music fans a quite extraordinary listening experience. In 2014, this wonderful new commission from Ozone was premiered in a series of breath-taking live performances by a jazz orchestra in full flow and a very special soloist on stunning form.

Makoto Ozone was asked to re-imagine Mozart's Jeunehomme in a jazz setting, and few musicians are as qualified as he to accept such a huge challenge. Ozone brilliantly bestrides the worlds of jazz and classical music with seemingly effortless ease and disarming charm. He is leading jazz pianist with a reputation for dazzling artistry, and a classical pianist who is equally at home on the international concert platform.

Scotland's National Jazz Orchestra and Makoto Ozone approach Mozart's music with an irrepressible optimism that captures perfectly the composer's youthful passion and energy. The 9th Piano Concerto was written when Mozart was twenty-one years old, evidently as a commission for a young woman named Louise-Victoire Jenamy. Now widely referred to as Jenamy, the piece is daringly re-invented as a jazz concerto by a fearless pianist and an outstanding big band.

Extra info:

SCOTTISH NATIONAL JAZZ ORCHESTRA www.snjo.co.uk

MAKOTO OZONE
Mozart's 9th Piano Concerto

Queen's Hall
Edinburgh, Scotland

Recorded 26 April 2014

RHYTHM SECTION
Makoto Ozone (piano)
Calum Gourlay (bass)
Alyn Cosker (drums)

REEDS
Martin Kershaw
Ruaridh Pattison
Tommy Smith
Konrad Wiszniewski
Bill Fleming

TRUMPETS
Tom Walsh
Tom MacNiven
Cameron Jay
Lorne Cowieson

TROMBONES
Chris Greive
Phil O'Malley
Kieran McLeod
Michael Owers

Music orchestrated and arranged by Makoto ozone

Music commissioned by the SNJO with
subsidy from Creative Scotland

Audio Recorded by Mark McKellen

Audio Mixed in Rainbow Studios by
Jan Erik Kongshaug & Tommy Smith

Artistic Director Tommy Smith

Orchestral Manager (Page Turner)
Lindsay Roberston