National Youth Jazz Orchestra

Event information

NYJO at The Vortex

The National Youth Jazz Orchestra is one of Britain’s longest running and most successful ensembles for young people, playing big band jazz and offering a unique learning experience for under 25’s.

Founder Bill Ashton OBE, began the organisation in 1945 seeking to offer young musicians the opportunity to rehearse, write and gain experience of prestigious live performance in venues and festivals across the country. The weekly rehearsals at the Cockpit Theatre, Marylebone, open to all and free of charge, are a fixture ingrained in every UK jazz musicians mind, many of whom came up through the ranks under Bill’s watchful eye and remain loyal patrons.
Such alumni include Guy Barker, Dennis Rollins, Julian Arguelles, Amy Winehouse and Tom Cawley which gives an idea of why Johnnie Dankworth is famously quoted as saying ‘forget the word youth, this is one of the best bands you will ever hear’.

As a major supporter of British jazz composers through regular commissions including that of Paul Hart, Julian Joseph,Tim Garland, Nikki Iles and Jason Yarde, the orchestra’s repertoire features new and innovative works by band members such as Callum Au and Chris Whiter alongside favourite standards that make up ‘The Great American Songbook’ and ‘The Great British Songbook’. A legacy that has seen NYJO put down over 40 recordings to date.

2012 looks to be a ground breaking year for NYJO with significant changes taking effect in our programming, artistic policy and recruitment for NYJO 1, the main gigging band.

For NYJO to appear at The Vortex , one of the leading contemporary venues in Europe, is an exciting proposition. We’ll perform a contemporary programme, feature small groups of NYJO players and conclude every session with a Jam featuring some of the finest players on the London scene.