Zurich Jazz Orchestra plays Duke Ellington: «And His Mother Called Him Bill»

When we played the “Far East Suite” at the Kulturmarkt a year ago in June, the interest was huge. So we promised then that we would come back with a new Ellington program. We are now making good on that promise – with a program that we have never played before. “Billy Strayhorn was my right arm, my left arm, all the eyes in the back of my head, my brain waves in his head and his in mine.” (Duke Ellington, Music is My Mistress 156). Duke Ellington’s orchestra recorded the album “And His Mother Called Him Bill” immediately after the death of Billy Strayhorn. It is a sincere tribute to Ellington’s best friend, the man with whom Ellington had shaped the world of jazz for more than three decades. All compositions and arrangements are by Strayhorn and the album is considered one of Ellington’s best.

For years Adrian Mira has been our clarinet specialist when it comes to Duke Ellington. Adrian Mira studied classical clarinet at the Musikhochschule Winterthur-Zurich and then completed postgraduate semesters (saxophone and clarinet) at the Zurich Jazz School. After graduating, he worked as a musician in the Big Apple for ten years. Mira has been back in Switzerland since 2014 and, in addition to performing as a sideman, he also devotes himself to his own composition work. He has released the albums “Acoustic Journeys” and “Spotlight”.