British National Youth Jazz Orchestra performing with German Bundesjazzorchester at Ambassador Ammon's Residence (32903327813)

The National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO) is a British

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

founded in 1965 by Bill Ashton. In 2010. Mark Armstrong took over as Music Director of the flagship performing band, and Artistic Director of the organisation; Bill Ashton became Life President, and Nigel Tully became Executive Chair. Based in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, NYJO started life as the London Schools' Jazz Orchestra, and evolved into becoming the national orchestra. Its aims are to provide an opportunity for gifted young musicians from around the UK to perform big band jazz in major concert halls, theatres, and on radio and television, and to make recordings, commission new works from British composers and arrangers, and to introduce a love of jazz to as wide an audience as possible, but especially to schoolchildren. The performing band, NYJO, is selected by audition and invitation, and has a maximum age of 25. It performs around 40 gigs a year across the UK, the vast majority involving additional inspirational educational workshops for local schoolchildren, in partnership with the local Music Hub. It rehearses every Saturday at the

London Centre of Contemporary Music London College of Creative Media (LCCM) is a private college of higher education in South London offering undergraduate degrees in music, writing, and music management; a postgraduate degree in creative entrepreneurship; and shorter courses in mu ...

, near London Bridge, London. In 2011, a new band, NYJO London, was created to focus on developing school aged jazz musicians in greater London. In 2013, NYJO's London training and education activities were brought together under the banner of the NYJO Academy, which now includes the NYJO Academy Big Band, the NYJO Academy Jazz Ensemble, NYJO London, and the NYJO Academy Vocal Class. A small charge (£5 per session) is made for attendance. In April 2015, NYJO became an

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three s ...

National Portfolio Organisation (NPO), in recognition of its unique role as an excellent youth arts institution and its ability to inspire young people to like and enjoy jazz. At the same time NYJO acquired jazz's first ever Royal patron,

the Earl of Wessex Earl of Wessex is a title that has been created twice in British history – once in the pre-Conquest Anglo-Saxon nobility of England, and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In the 6th century AD the region of Wessex (the lands of the W ...

, who had seen the band perform live at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

in December 2014. NYJO has an extensive discography of over 40 recordings. A new double CD album entitled ''NYJO FIFTY'' was released in late 2015 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of NYJO's formation, with guest appearances by alumnus

Mark Nightingale Mark Daryl Nightingale (born 29 May 1967) is an English jazz trombonist, composer, and arranger. Career He began on trombone at age nine, and played in the Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra and the National Youth Jazz Orchestra in his teens. He at ...

and by

Zoe Rahman Zoe Rahman (born 20 January 1971) is an English jazz composer and pianist. Early life Rahman was born and brought up in Chichester, West Sussex, England by a Bengali father, Mizan Rahman, and an English-Irish mother. Her mother was a doctor wh ...

and

Julian Siegel Julian H. Siegel (born 1966 in Nottingham) is a British jazz saxophone and clarinet player, and a composer and arranger, described by MOJO Magazine as "One of the UK's most creative saxophonists" Siegel has toured and recorded with Greg Cohen an ...

, both of whom were commissioned to write new works for the album. NYJO's members have included many of the major names in British jazz over the last three decades, including

Julian Argüelles Julian Argüelles (born 28 January 1966) is an English jazz saxophonist. Coming to prominence in the 1980s and '90s with the ensemble Loose Tubes, Argüelles has worked extensively as a solo performer and with American and European musicians. ...

Guy Barker Guy Jeffrey Barker, (born 26 December 1957) is an English jazz trumpeter and composer. Early life Barker was born in Chiswick, London, the son of an actress and a stuntman. He started playing the trumpet at the age of twelve, and within a year ...

Chris Biscoe Chris Biscoe (born 5 February 1947, East Barnet, Hertfordshire, England) is an English jazz multi-instrumentalist, a player of the alto, soprano, tenor and baritone saxophone, the alto clarinet, piccolo and flute. Biscoe is most notable for his ...

Richard James Burgess Richard James Burgess (born 29 June 1949) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, composer, author, manager, marketer and inventor. Burgess's music career spans more than 50 years. He came to prominence in the early 1980s a ...

, Paul Edmonds,

Teresa Gallagher Teresa Gallagher is an American-born British actress. Career Gallagher is known for her role as Ellen Smith in ''The Bill'', for her appearances on radio in ''No Commitments'', ''Salem's Lot'', and '' Memorials to the Missing''. She play ...

, Steve Hill, David Wood,

Nigel Hitchcock Nigel Hitchcock (born 4 January 1971) is an English jazz saxophonist. Biography Hitchcock began to play alto sax at the age of eight. In 1982 he and his elder brother Clive joined the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. After one year Nigel took the ...

Carol Kenyon Carol Kenyon (sometimes spelt Karol; born 1959) is a British singer. She is best known for her vocals on the Heaven 17 hit song "Temptation", which reached number two in the UK Singles Chart in 1983. When the song was re-released as a remix by ...

Dave O'Higgins Dave O'Higgins (born 1 September 1964) is an English jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, educator and latterly recording engineer and producer. Born in Birmingham, O'Higgins first emerged on the British jazz scene in the 1980s. After playing i ...

, Simon Phillips,

Gerard Presencer Gerard Presencer (born 12 September 1972) is an English jazz trumpeter. Biography Presencer showed his first interest in what was to become his chosen instrument, the trumpet, at nine. He attributes his early determination to become a trumpete ...

Brian Priestley Brian Priestley (born 10 July 1940)Many sources list Priestley's year of birth as 1946, but this is inaccurate. See Priestley's entry in ''The Rough Guide to Jazz'' anon his revised Charlie Parker study. is an English jazz writer, pianist and a ...

Frank Ricotti Frank Ricotti (born 31 January 1949) is an English jazz vibraphonist and percussionist. Early life and education Ricotti was born in London, England. His father was a drummer. Bill Ashton, founder of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NY ...

Jamie Talbot James Robert Talbot (born 23 April 1960 in London) is an English jazz alto saxophonist. Talbot played with the London Schools Symphony Orchestra and then with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. He attended the Royal College of Music during 1978� ...

, Dave Watts, Tom Cawley, Gareth Lockrane, Harrison Wood, Louis Dowdeswell, Callum Au, Chris White,

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A membe ...

Bobby Worth Bobby Worth (September 25, 1912 in Cleveland, Ohio – July 17, 2002 in Mission Hills, California) was an American songwriter. His best known songs are "Do I Worry?", "'Til Reveille", "Tonight We Love", and "Don't You Know?". Worth was cons ...

Norwich Jazz Party 2014. Profile.
Retrieved 15 July 2013. and

Neil Yates Neil Yates (born 1970 in Stockport, Cheshire, England) is a British jazz and folk musician. Biography Yates studied music at Salford University before moving to London to study jazz at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He lived and w ...

Discography

*1971: ''The National Youth Jazz Orchestra - Play The Music Of Alan Cohen, Graham Collier, John Dankworth & Others'' *1973: ''National Youth Jazz Orchestra'' *1975: ''11 Plus-Live At London Weekend Television'' *1976: ''Return Trip'' *1977: ''In Camra'' *1978: ''To Russia With Jazz'' *1979: ''Mary Rose'' *1980: ''Down Under'' *1980: ''The Sherwood Forest Suite'' *1982: ''Playing Turkey'' *1983: ''Why Don't They Write Songs Like This Anymore - Litsa Davies'' *1984: ''Born Again - Shorty Rogers'' *1985: ''Full Score'' *1985: ''Concrete Cows - John Dankworth'' *1986: ''With An Open Mind'' *1987: ''Concerto for Guitar and Jazz Orchestra - Paul Hart, John Williams'' *1987: ''Shades Of Blue & Green - with Lorraine Craig'' *1988: ''Maltese Cross'' *1989: ''Big Band Christmas'' *1990: ''Cooking With Gas'' *1990: ''Portraits - (The Music Of Harry South)'' *1991: ''Remembrance'' *1991: ''These are the Jokes'' *1993: ''Looking Forward Looking Back'' *1994: ''Hallmark'' *1995: ''Cottoning On'' *1995: ''In Control'' *1996: ''A View From The Hill'' *1996: ''Algarhythms'' *1997: ''Unison In All Things'' *1997: ''With One Voice'' *1998: ''47 Frith Street'' *1999: ''Stepping Stones'' *2000: ''Who's Blue'' *2002: ''This Time Live at the Club'' *2003: ''Jasmine'' *2003: ''A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year'' *2004: ''Jazz In Film'' *2005: ''Something Old Something New'' *2005: ''Two Suites'' *2006: ''London Pride'' *2008: ''When You're Ready'' *2009: ''A Christmas Carol In Six Movements'' *2012: ''The Change'' *2015: ''NYJO 50'' *Compilation: ''The Very Best Of NYJO - 4CD Set'' *Compilation: ''Sing A Song Of Ashton - 2CD Set''

References

Bibliography

*Ian Carr,

Digby Fairweather Richard John Charles "Digby" Fairweather (born 25 April 1946) is a British jazz cornetist, author and broadcaster. Biography Before becoming a professional musician, Fairweather was a librarian and has retained an interest in jazz bibliograph ...

, & Brian Priestley. ''Jazz: The Rough Guide''.

External links

Official website
* Discography from Allmusicbr>NYJO at The Cockpit
{{Authority control Big bands National youth orchestras 1965 establishments in the United Kingdom Musical groups established in 1965 Youth organisations based in the United Kingdom