Kings Place Jazz Orchestra: 70yrs West Side Story

A jazz orchestra concert at Kings Place marking seventy years since West Side Story, the Leonard Bernstein musical, first reached the stage. The programme draws on the show's score in a big-band jazz setting.

The Kings Place Jazz Orchestra presents this concert as a tribute to West Side Story, the musical with music by Leonard Bernstein, first staged in 1957. The evening reworks the score for a jazz orchestra, so the familiar songs from the show are heard through big-band arrangements rather than as a theatre production with singers and staging.

The orchestra is a jazz ensemble performing in the London concert hall at Kings Place, Hall One. The venue hosts concerts and shows across the year, and this event fits its regular programme of live music. Those who know Bernstein's score or enjoy big-band jazz will find the concert's focus clear from its title.

The night suits listeners interested in the music of the Broadway musical and in how its melodies translate into jazz orchestration. It is a concert for an audience that wants to hear the score reimagined by a large jazz ensemble in a dedicated concert hall.