Bill Ashton and NYJO getting into
the Christmas spirit in 2007

An nice profile of Bill Ashton in the Harrow Observer gives me the germ of an idea, to start building up a list of the heroic people who in different ways make a huge difference to British Jazz.

The Jazz Services Site gives an idea of the range of activity, all instigated and run by Ashton.

The (classical) National Youth Orchestra costs a whopping £1.4m per annum to run, with parents contributing less than 10% of the costs. It gets 212k from the public purse via Youth Music. NYJO costs just over a tenth of this , and receives Arts Council core funding of just £50k.

Any number of musicians will tell you what they owe to Bill and to NYJO in helping them start their careers. But to get the full works, there is only one solution. Go and HEAR them. The gigs are always very lively, packed with energy and hope.

NYJO’s calendar is Here

And NYJO’s next London gig is on Sunday lunchtime Feb 15th at Ruislip Manor Sport and Social Club, HA4 6JQ at 12.30pm.