Orchestre Nationale de Jazz

Paris-based Orchestre Nationale de Jazz is a 14-member big band that uses jazz to melt multi-hued influences from world music to modern classical. The current ONJ conductor is Claude Barth�lemy, a composer who also plays guitar, oud, and bouzouki. With the typical array of horns, bass and drums, the ONJ also includes accordion, marimbas, balafo and the Indonesian gamelan. The emphasis on acoustic instrumentation allows for subtle orchestration, and offers an array of instrumental textures that help fulfill the group�s mandate of �creating the most popular of highbrow music genres and the most highbrow of popular music genres.� The ONJ, created in 1986, has earned a reputation for daring by hooking up with everyone from Gil Evans, Carla Bley, Johnny Griffin, and Didier Lockwood. One of the most open-ended and progressive musical ensembles in Europe, the ONJ offers a unique trip into some of the hippest music being made today.