Starting at 10:15pm, I wondered whether this late-night prom was past the bedtime for the preternaturally talented musicians (aged 16-19) of the National Youth Orchestra (NYO) Jazz. Yet this Carnegie Hall-affiliated outfit, under strong command from artistic director and trumpeter Sean Jones, thoroughly gripped their ambitious jazz and big band assignments, delivering pieces from the likes of Duke Ellington (“Braggin’ in Brass”), Mongo Santamaría (“Afro Blue”), and Spencer Williams (“Basin Street Blues”). Contemporary compositions “The 29ers” (written by Jones, an ode to jazz musicians born on the 29th day of the month) and encore number “We’re Still Here” (Wycliffe Gordon) blended right into the set, buoyed by a propulsive rhythm section and strong solo work throughout.

Grammy and Tony Award-winning songstress Dee Dee Bridgewater joined the orchestra a few pieces in, sauntering on stage dressed in Barbie pink and scatting her way through Ellington’s “Cotton Tail” with unwavering energy. Gutsy on Billie Holliday’s “Fine and Mellow”, and playful on “Basin Street Blues” (where she imitated Louis Armstrong), Bridgewater’s vocals are an evergreen delight. Her tantalisingly phrased rendition of Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good”, seguing ingeniously into James Brown’s “I Got You (I Feel Good),” was one of this writer’s musical moments of the year.