Before the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO) became an entity in 1965, aspiring young British jazz musicians often had little alternative but to create their own opportunities. It took the visionary zeal of the orchestra’s founder, Bill Ashton, who has died aged 88, to change the landscape of possibilities.
Once the NYJO had been set up, any ambitious youngster under the age of 26 could turn up at one of its weekly open rehearsals in London, take a turn on the bandstand and, if good enough, come back again, with any luck on a regular basis.
