About the Orchestra
"This wonderful bunch of youngsters brought back into jazz what is so often missing from it in this day and age: the sheer joy of playing"
Peter Pallai, concert organiser, Budapest Jazz Club
The Cambridge University Jazz Orchestra (CUJO) is Cambridge's premier vehicle for promoting and performing jazz in the University and beyond.
CUJO brings together the top jazz musicians in the university. We have performed in numerous professional venues in the UK and overseas on national and international tours, won gold awards in UK-wide big band competitions and have collaborated with world-famous musicians, composers and arrangers such as Mark Nightingale, Gareth Lockrane, Steve Waterman, Issie Barratt and Mike Gibbs.
The band regularly tours abroad, having played in top venues such as the Casa del Jazz in Rome, the Budapest Jazz Club, and the prestigious Montreux jazz festival.
The group is 20-strong and plays a wide variety of music, including arrangements performed by the leading big bands of today such as Bill Holman, Bob Curnow, NYJO, Bob Florence, and the Lincoln Center and Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestras. We do stay committed to our roots however - our pads feature the full repertory of standards, swing, and funk as well as a number of classic vocal charts.
We have years of experience playing many different styles - our primary focus is on our concert performances but we are also always in demand to perform for dance events including numerous Cambridge May Balls and private functions - please don't hesitate to get in touch with us if you have any questions about CUJO!
The orchestra rehearses every Thursday evening from 7.30-10pm at Trinity Hall music room.
Current band for 2011-12:
