NYO Jazz from Carnegie Hall performs at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Shanghai, joined by NEA Jazz Master and three-time Grammy winner Dee Dee Bridgewater. The concert features big band jazz, jazz standards, and contemporary works performed by one of the leading youth jazz ensembles in the United States.

About the Concert

NYO Jazz is a national youth jazz orchestra founded by Carnegie Hall in 2018. It brings together selected young jazz musicians from across the United States through a rigorous nationwide audition process.

On August 11, 2026, the ensemble performs in Shanghai with NEA Jazz Master and Grammy Award-winning vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater. The program includes big band jazz repertoire, well-known jazz standards, and contemporary compositions. Featured works include a newly commissioned piece by Korean-American composer Jihye Lee and a special arrangement by NYO Jazz alum Skylar Tang.

The concert presents a mix of jazz tradition and contemporary musical language through a large ensemble format.

Performers

Dee Dee Bridgewater

Dee Dee Bridgewater is a jazz vocalist and performer with a multi-decade career. She is a three-time Grammy Award winner and NEA Jazz Master. She won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album for Eleanora Fagan (1915–1959): To Billie with Love from Dee Dee Bridgewater.

She began her career with the Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra and performed with musicians including Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, and Dizzy Gillespie. Her career includes work in jazz recordings, musical theatre, and live performance.

NYO Jazz (National Youth Orchestra Jazz)

NYO Jazz is a youth jazz ensemble founded by Carnegie Hall in 2018. Each year, musicians aged 16–19 are selected from across the United States through auditions to form the ensemble.

Members train under established jazz artists and perform at Carnegie Hall and on international tours. The ensemble has performed in Europe and Asia, and has been described by The Telegraph as “astonishing not only in technical ability but also in musical maturity,” while The Times noted that audiences are hearing “the voices of future jazz stars.”

Song List

• Universal Love
• Galapagos
• Quintessence
• Little Pixie
• In A Mellow Tone
• Li'l Darlin'
• Roll 'Em
• So What
• Can't Hide Love
• Second Balcony Jump
• Strength in Numbers
• We're Still Here
• *Yes or No
• *A Shift West
• *The Danger Zone
• *Throw It Away
• *If You Want Me To Stay
• *Cottontail
• *Basin Street Blues
• *Afro Blue

(*Starred tracks indicate guest-related repertoire)
Program is subject to change.

Why Go

This concert brings together a leading American youth jazz orchestra and an internationally recognized jazz vocalist, creating a program that spans jazz standards, big band repertoire, and contemporary works. It places NYO Jazz’s emerging musicians alongside Dee Dee Bridgewater’s established career, offering a contrast between generations within jazz performance.

The performance stands out as a large-scale youth orchestra presentation paired with a globally recognized jazz artist, making it a distinctive format compared to standard jazz concerts.