To raise a new song: The National Youth Jazz Orchestra

There's an episode of The Simpsons where the recently deceased Bleeding Gums Murphy plays a saxophone duet from up on his cloud with Lisa, the child to whom he lent his instrument the day before he died. It's an unlikely inspiration for a career in music but it was the sound of that saxophone which grabbed the imagination of the 12-year-old Phil Meadows. A few decades later, it's Meadows himself who is inspiring a new generation of jazz performers with his work as one of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra's (NYJO) musical directors, running weekly rehearsals for the organisation's improvisation ensemble NYJO London.

‘Provision for jazz teaching in this country is patchy to say the least,’ says Meadows at one of his monthly jam sessions at Foyles bookshop in London. ‘If you live near one of the hubs who've really worked hard with jazz, or near a big city, you're probably going to be fine but elsewhere it can be a bit of a desert, which is why we are determined to “level the playing field in jazz education” as our battle cry goes.’

© Daniel Devlin

Musicians from NYJO's Regional Academies and Big Band at a joint gala concert in July 2018

A storied past

In its 54-year history, the organisation has grown from a single jazz orchestra, catering for emerging professionals, to a multi-faceted force working at all levels of jazz education all around the country.

‘We are passionate about ensuring that every young person can access affordable, high-quality jazz education provision, no matter their postcode or background, and we intend to do this with a wide range of projects,’ says Meadows. ‘Each area faces different challenges. At the moment, brilliant as provision is for some, thousands of young potential jazz musicians miss out on the educational and social benefits – and sheer joy – of participating in jazz, and also jazz as an artform is poorer for the lack of their creative voices.’

Debbie Forwood, NYJO's development and communications manager, and a conservatoire-trained saxophone player herself, sees their programme as ‘locally run with national support.

‘We look at what's going on around the country, try to spot where the holes are and ask how can we help? Sometimes it's as simple as the lack of a teacher, there are multicultural issues to consider and in rural areas it can be hard to get things off the ground.’

While jazz is frequently considered suitable for older students, Meadows is keen to start them young. ‘Seven plus is ideal. The earlier jazz is introduced, the better it is for creative thinking. At that age there's a lack of ego and they're keen to explore, rather than being boxed in by notation. Once you're teaching notation you're teaching how to crack a code rather than how to play music. I love working with that age group because there's a natural joy to what they do.’

Meadows believes he was ‘very lucky’ to have been brought up with a father who learned saxophone alongside him and, more importantly, with Richard Isles at Bolton Music Service. ‘I was at a state school before I went to Chetham's for sixth form and then on to Leeds College of Music and Trinity Laban as a postgraduate. But the instrument you play shouldn't depend on where you live or where you go to school which is why we are dedicated our outreach work.’

Bring them in

NYJO now has 90 education partner organisations. Nine of these are feature partners who have signed up for a minimum three-year partnership to work closely with NYJO, developing jazz education opportunities that suit local needs.

© Daniel Devlin Students of the NYJO Academy practising band-leading at an end-of-term concert

‘Chances to work with an organisation like this are few and far between outside of London, particularly in more isolated rural areas,’ says Cath Sewell, regional manager of Lancashire Music Service. ‘The meaningful partnerships NYJO is building with music hubs ensures their work has the highest impact across the country.’

Abigail Boak at Accent Music Education in Warrington believes NYJO's involvement at her hub improved student engagement after events because a ‘real extended activity plan was offered rather than one-off concerts.

‘This was an excellent opportunity for hubs to bring professional musicians in to perform for students and to offer a non-classical opportunity. It was excellent value for money and the professionalism of the performers was excellent. It was clear they adapted the event to suit the different audiences which was really helpful.’

In the past year alone, NYJO has worked with more than 9,000 students in 362 workshops. Plenty have enjoyed the experience and moved on, and many have taken up an instrument, some for fun, some professionally. But for one man, NYJO proved a turning point. Ben Appiah, a 22-year-old drummer from south London, has recently graduated from Middlesex University's jazz course. He now works as an ambassador for NYJO, does a lot of performance and recording, teaches at a free school and also works there as a counsellor, seeing a lot of overlap between music and communication with hard-to-reach students. Ben says it could have been very different for him. ‘I grew up in a culture where gangs were normal, where guns were cool. Music, jazz, my teachers, and NYJO opened my eyes to the world, and woke me up as a person. When I started on this path, I was nerdy, I wasn't sociable, and I couldn't talk to people. Everyone should have the opportunities I was given.’

nyjo.org.uk

The winner of this year's Will Michael Jazz Education Award will be announced on 6 March 2019 at the Music and Drama Expo. The finalists are Hubs from Camden, Durham, Devon, Greater Manchester, Oxfordshire and Sheffield.NYJO's plans to level the playing field:

• A NYJO Regional Academy: Locally-run, nationally-supported ensemble or workshops. There are now Regional Academies in Darlington, Bradford-on-Avon, Preston and Penrith.
• Professional Development: Local jazz leaders are supported to help students develop a wide range of skills
• Recruitment workshops: NYJO takes emerging professionals into schools to run workshops, supported by professional jazz educators. They build skills and, as role models, drum up interest for extracurricular activity run by the Hubs.
• The NYJO Jazz Messengers: A diverse sextet of young professionals who tour schools in areas of deprivation and low cultural engagement, to inspire young people to take up jazz instruments. Concerts are followed up by free or cheap instrumental lessons and hire by hubs.
• Targeted Touring: NYJO's professional jazz orchestra visits areas of need or low cultural engagement, running side-by-side workshops with bands who often then perform as the ‘support act’ in concerts, building skills and raising the aspirations of the young people involved.
• The NYJO Ambassadors: Young professionals with an interest in education elect to be apprentice workshop leaders that assist on, and then later lead, jazz skills workshops under the coaching of artistic director Mark Armstrong and NYJO's associate educators. Ambassadors are utilised for most of NYJO's education work, as they help to provide more individualised attention for participants, and make ideal role-models to raise aspirations, being old enough to be excellent, but young enough to be relatable.