Knoxville Jazz Orchestra

Excellent way to start a week a Tuesday night date

I've been a fan of this tremendous collection of musicians for years. And whenever they're on the same stage, look out! The program is always a great balance of traditional and cutting edge. The production in terms of lighting and sounds is always magnificent. And the guest artists are always epic and bring their "A game" to Knoxville. How did we ever become so blessed to have an ensemble of this caliber in our area? If I can help it, I'll not miss any of these...it's the best calorie-free dessert EVER!

Truly a musical genius. Very humble but hugely talented. Great collaboration w the excellent KJO

Had a good time once again with the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra. We are so blessed to have such talent in Knoxville!

Wow!! A special night of Jazz and Christmas swing. Amazing vocals, exceptional orchestra and Wycliffe Gordon was on point with superb showmanship. I really enjoyed his Louis Armstrong renditions. Don t miss this next year you will enjoy.

Having not seen a live show in a long time (I believe our last show was Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn at the same venue), we were ready for a "concert date." We were not disappointed. The Knoxville Jazz Orchestra delivered in spades. The guest artists, John Beasley (piano and conductor) and Kendrick Scott (percussion) rounded out a brass and reed ensemble that was tight and on point from opener to encore. I nearly forgot the rest of the rhythm section. The bass player (I cannot recall his name) was at center stage and was the nexus of the rhythm section, tying the guest artists and the KJO together in such a way that they all seemed to have been performing together for much longer than the two days that the guest artists had been in town prior to the show.

Silent Night & trombone quartet were great. Ms. Harris had a beautiful voice and really could "swing".

It was truly a swinging, awesome concert and evening spent at the elegant Tennessee theater.

Nick Harris was fantastic. She should return. Let's have her back.

I gave my Cuban born parents concert tickets to this show as a birthday gift to my mother. My mother was brought to tears by some of the music that both she and my father have known so well all their lives - particularly Lecuona's "Andalucia", which my mother herself used to play on the piano. She said she felt as though she was back in one of the important theaters in Havana (can't remember the name myself now), listening to the greats of Cuba. She and my dad of course are very familiar with Paquito D'Rivera and his history as a musician, my mother is a musician too. They were excited to be there, to hear the old classics, and to hear the new blends of classical and jazz that he has developed. They enjoyed his sense of humor and the intimate setting of the Bijou!

Great show and soul melting music! It took everything to not get up and dance in the seat.... so I yelled and cheered instead. ;)

Amazing show by a brilliant soloist and incredible band.

Jazz is for Lovers was a perfect St. Valentine's Day date with my husband. Rene Marie's saucy and sassy voice is a perfect vehicle for the pieces she presented. The Knoxville Jazz Orchestra makes my feet dance. Such talent we are blest with in East Tennessee. The Bijou Theatre has great acoustics and provides wonderful ambience. My only complaint is that back in the N-Orchestra row we could not hear a lot of the words in the songs or in the narrative. Overall it was definitely a 5-star experience.

This was probably the best vocal performance I have attended. The jazz orchestra was spot-on, and Merrill Lynch was absolutely stunning. Each section of the orchestra was featured, and it led to a very interesting performance.

We had the most fun clapping, whooping and stomping through Dalfeayo and Herlin's performance with the KJO! What a start to the new season! And our own guys stood up to not only superbly backing up the guest artists, but to their solos and enhancing the riffs, off-chart jamming and improvising. We both said it was in the top five concerts we'd ever attended. Proud of the KJO. Vance, Dr. Bill and all are fabulous. Loved "meeting" the Marsalis family's trombonist and adored seeing Herlin work his magic. A wonderful evening!

The Knoxville Jazz Orchestra was magnificent, as usual. Many cities that are much larger than Knoxville do not have a big band of the caliber of the KJO - or a big band, period. Knoxville is indeed fortunate to have fabulous musicians - not merely entertainers - such as these. Vance Thompson and the KJO's ability to attract nationally known guest musicians is a testament to this fact. Clairdee was unpretentious and soulful. Her ability to bend a note giving us much more than the composer wrote was breathtaking; however, she never lost sight of the melody. She is respectful of jazz standards but brings a fresh interpretation to them. We also enjoyed her banter and explanation of the history of the songs. The KJO is always a bargain (we assume because of generous sponsors); tickets are incredibly reasonably priced and affordable to most people, especially when compared to pop entertainers who charge 4 times as much for dubious quality musicianship played in a barn like Thompson Boling Arena. Keep up the great work KJO! We would LOVE to see Clairdee again. Thanks for a great evening.

This was the first time that I have been to see the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra. They are FANTASTIC!! I was very impressed with the talent we have here in Knoxville. Jane Monheit was also incredible. Her voice is beautiful! Love the choices of songs!

Very good - good song selection and proper length of concert.

I loved the concert frombeginning to end. Thanks to KJO for bringing in such high quality artists.

First time seeing a show at the Bijou Theatre and it was fantastic! The Knox Jazz Orchestra has some seriously talented players, and Jane Monheit was the perfect compliment to the big band jazz orchestra. Good to see the jazz community in Knoxville flourishing. I'll definitely be back.

An absolutely amazing performance by the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra! A must see for the holiday season!

The music was wonderful. The set and lights were a problem for me. Why shine intense white lights into the eyes of the audience? The background for the orchestra was dizzying. The sets were better in previous years. The female vocalist was a pleasure to listen to.

As usual the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra performs Beautifully!! My date and I make this an annual event every Christmas and always love it!!

great performance but I hate that ticketmaster is trying to tell me what to write in my review.

This orchestra just gets better every time we see them. Music was exhilarating and fun. Peplowski is an accomplished musician and entertaining as well. Clairdee blew us away. Will definitely go back to see the orchestra and her again in April.

WOW one word says it all!! The evening started with a pre-show concert by the teenage aspiring jazz musicians in the lobby area prior to THE performance. The Knoxville Jazz Orchestra ended with their "Not so Silent Night" and it was all GREAT. The performance was as good as those I have heard in jazz clubs and concerts in LA to New Orleans to Chicago to St Louis to NYC. They rank up with all of them.

My 1st time to the TN theater, 1st jazz concert, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself! Will certainly go again and encourage others to do the same. Had a great time!!!

I took my 11 yr. Old son, who just started band. He thought it was great. I was so glad I could share this with him right at Christmas. Thank you so much for giving me time with my son.

The Monty Alexander B-day concert was absolutely incredible. I totally underestimated the level these guys play at, and that's coming from a very musically active person. It was awesome to have the Jamaican reggae guys come along and contribute to the "Jamaican riddim" that was often heard. I especially liked the dual song "River + Hurricane" which contained both flowy soft sections and intense complex ones. The reggae bassist had a little debut where he sang "No Woman No Cry" (originally by Bob Marley) and I was extremely impressed with his voice and overall vocal range. In addition, being a drummer myself, I enjoyed watching both drummers (from the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra, and Monty's reggae drummer) especially when playing complex riffs.You could see moments throughout the concert where Monty really was living his music, super focused and entranced in the rhythms he was producing, hands flying around all over the keys. No wonder he was named in the top 5 of the Greatest Jazz Pianists of All Time. It was a privilege to experience for sure. This performance was easily a 10/10 stars.

It was not enough that Knoxville hosted one of the top Jazz pianist of our era. It was not enough that the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra is constantly reaching new heights with their playing and performance and backed Monty Alexander. Together, they had to bring it in with a bang, smash and pow. Interlacing seeminglessly effortless improvisional solos, jams, joints, vibes and songs. Jazz like it was meant to be played, Reggae as it was intended with bass, drums, feeling..OMG, if you missed this, I feel bad for you.

It was awesome!! We really enjoyed the performance. Amazing talent!