Rhapsody in Blue
19:30 Sat 28 Nov 2026 The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
Programme
- Song Medley (instrumental)(12 mins)arr. M. Hazama
- Impromptu(7 mins)
- Smile (instrumental)(4 mins)arr. C. Ogerman/M. Hazama
- Three Black Kings(18 mins)version for solo tenor saxophone and orchestra
- interval
- Bienvenidos Al Mundo(arr. Miho Hazama)
- Pandora(14 mins)
- Rhapsody in Blue(16 mins)
Performers
- Miho Hazamaconductor
- Makoto Ozonepiano
Smile, though your heart is aching
Grammy-nominated Miho Hazama, chief conductor of the Danish Radio Big Band, brings an effortless swagger to her debut at the Bridgewater Hall.
Pianist Makoto Ozone joins her in this jazz-inflected programme, performing George Gershwin’s timelessly free Rhapsody in Blue, and his own compositions Pandora and Bienvenidos Al Mundo arranged by Miho Hazama. Duke Ellington’s final major composition Three Black Kings pays tribute to two Biblical kings and Martin Luther King Jr. in a percussion-heavy sound world, bubbling with the bright, spirited jazz of the dance hall.
Elsewhere, Gershwin’s beloved songs are reframed through Miho Hazama’s luminous instrumental arrangements.
Miho Hazama. Photo: Dave Stapleton
