Jazzik – “Blue”

Based in New York, Hazama was trained both as a classical composer at the Kunitachi Conservatory in Japan and as a jazz composer at the Manhattan School of Music. Her symphonic jazz compositions and arrangements blend sophisticated orchestral writing with a distinctive jazz voice.

Symphonic highlights of the 2025 summer and 2025/26 season include conducting debuts at the BBC Proms with the BBC Concert Orchestra, with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Brussels Philharmonic and Brussels Jazz Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, as well as at the Alte Oper Frankfurt for a Miles Davis centenary concert.

As a composer and arranger, Hazama has collaborated with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Metropole Orkest, hr-Sinfonieorchester, as well as with artists such as Ryuichi Sakamoto, Vince Mendoza, and Shiro Sagisu, in addition to scoring for film and television.

As a guest conductor, Hazama has led ensembles such as the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, WDR Big Band Cologne, and hr-Bigband Frankfurt, in programmes spanning from works by George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Duke Ellington, Herbie Hancock, and Ennio Morricone, to jazz interpretations of works by Tchaikovsky and Beethoven, as well as to her own
compositions.

Hazama’s compositions and arrangements have featured on numerous recordings, six of which she herself conducted to great acclaim: four albums with m_unit, one with the Danish Radio Big Band, and, most recently, Live Life This Day: Celebrating Thad Jones (March 2025), recorded with the Danish Radio Big Band and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. The m_unit album Dancer in Nowhere (2018) received a nomination for the 62nd GRAMMY® Awards.

Acclaimed as one of the finest jazz musicians to emerge this side of the Atlantic, Julian Joseph has devoted his long career to championing the music across the British Isles and into the far corners of the globe. He has forged a reputation beyond his formidable skills as a composer and performer, and is universally recognised as a highly knowledgable and engaging broadcaster, musical ambassador and cultural advocate. His charitable work and generous skills as an educator have made a major contribution to Britain’s cultural landscape and heritage. He is a greatly admired and respected figure in British Jazz, celebrated for his service to others and for sharing all the benefits of his life in music to inspire the musicians of the future. Julian shares his unique insights into the philosophy and practice of jazz performance in his recent book, Music of Initiative.