Hot Club Jazz Orchestra presents and edits album “Peace and Justice”

“Peace and Justice” leaves on August 14, but will be presented on Thursday, with the Jazz Orchestra of the Hot Club of Portugal and John Hollenbeck playing at Quinta das Lágrimas, in Coimbra, under the Festival of Arts.

In a press release, the orchestra explains that “Peace and Justice” was recorded in 2022, after “a memorable concert” with John Hollenbeck in Lisbon, “precisely when international trips resumed after the covid-19 pandemic.

John Hollenbeck signs the composition of all themes on the album, with the exception of some songs from traditional Ukrainian music, such as “Red Shades”, and traditional Turkish music, with “Sinanari”.

According to the drummer, Ukrainian-rooted songs were recovered from a project he had predicted with musicians from Ukraine for May 2022, which eventually did not happen because of the Russian military invasion in Ukraine months earlier.

“Peace and Justice” — a title that also appears on the cover of the album in English and Ukrainian – was produced by John Hollenbeck and Luís Cunha, also has the interpretation of singer Rita Maria and is described as “an artistic manifesto around a common purpose”, of hope and resilience.

Currently composed by 17 musicians, the Jazz Orchestra of the Hot Club of Portugal appeared in 1991 and is directed by Pedro Moreira.

With a repertoire that includes contemporary jazz and composers of the history of the ‘big band’, the orchestra has already acted with names such as Freddie Hubbard, Benny Golson, Mário Laginha, Maria João, Zé Eduardo, Joe Lovano and Perico Sambeat.

In a press release, the orchestra reveals that it has already recorded and will soon edit the project “Impermanence(s)”, which has been performing in concerts and which resulted from the commission of five new pieces to composers living in Portugal.

It also prepares the project “Meditations – In the footsteps of John Coltrane”, to mark the centenary of this American musician.