This morning’s Times has a piece by Ben Hoyle about the National Youth Jazz Orchestra’s forthcoming fundraising campaign led by board chair Nigel Tully.
Hoyle writes mainly about the potential threat of closure which NYJO faces.
“Requests for further funding from the Arts Council have been rejected until the NYJO can demonstrate that it is operating as a more structured organisation, can point to greater social and ethnic diversity among its intake and adopts a more progressive musical direction.”
The article has already started to attract comment.
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If you look at Dick Heckstall-Smith's memoirs on Google Books, there is a photo of NYJO in 1960 at Juan-les-Pins. An unexpected alumnus! Can anyone think of any more?
http://books.google.com/books?id=9Yt5Zm6pLuEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=heckstall+smith+blowing+the+blues&ei=zGdQS6LxIZWqzgTv7cTvCw&client=safari&cd=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false
Pete Wareham?
I do have mixed feelings on this issue. Of course NYJO needs to be preserved, but actually it really is time that it was brought into the 21st century. I think the Arts Council are trying to do the right thing here – and hopefully it will achieve its objectives and save NYJO in a new revitalised form.
From what I can see, and from what eveyone tells me who was at the recent public meeting, a process of reform and renewal and a pro-active appeal for funds is now genuinely under way. NYJO must be getting close to fulfilling ACE's demands.
So LondonJazz is waiting in eager anticipation for the news that ACE has started to use the carrot to lift NYJO rather than the stick to knock it flat.
It can't really be about the money for ACE. In the context of their budgets the amounts are weeny.
Jon Lord of Deep Purple was an early pianist in the band.