Our website is undergoing a short facelift. Please excuse the mess, and the minimal look!
We are CUJO, the Cambridge University Jazz Orchestra. We are Cambridge's premier big band, formed from the very best players that the University has to offer. Our repertoire spans the gamut of jazz music, from early Miles Davis arrangements to more modern charts by such as Pat Metheney and Gordon Goodwin, with a popular sideline in some serious funk.
CUJO have been awarded a gold award in their regional heat for this year's National Big Band Festival competition. The band will therefore be competing in the finals next spring. You can check here to see exactly what a gold award entails (it's the top award from four possible), but the executive summary is "awesome".
CUJO are still available for the usual range of engagements this year - e-mail Tom Millar or Nick Sutcliffe, one of the Band Directors, to book us, or if you have any other queries. They'll be happy to take your call.
For other matters, you might want to speak to our treasurer Alastair Beresford, our social secretary Vij Prakesh or our website guy Henry Robinson.
Check out See The World (modern), There's The Rub (funky!) and Cruisin' For A Bluesin' (swing) to see what we're capable of. These recordings were made at last year's National Big Band Festival, where CUJO won a silver award.
As it's a new year, we're looking for new players. Last year we had to say goodbye to some stalwarts, so we've got a couple of holes we're hoping to fill. If you play any kind of big band instrument to a good standard, and fancy rehearsing and gigging with CUJO this year, we'd like to hear from you, either by e-mail or by coming along to our stand at the Fresher's Fair.
The required standard in CUJO is understandably high: most players have grade 8 in their instrument and often qualifications far beyond that. However, if you feel you have something to offer please do get in touch: we're much less impressed by bits of paper than we are by high quality playing!