National Youth Jazz Orchestra releases album celebrating women in jazz

fter a three-year long wait, the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO) has released its latest studio album on streaming services.

Recorded in 2019 at the Air Studios in London, the album celebrates the contribution of women to jazz, featuring past, present and future jazz musicians.

Titled She Said, the album is comprised of a 24-piece NYJO Jazz Orchestra, with a line-up of emerging professional musicians aged 18–25. A group of younger musicians form NYJO’s London Academy were also involved in the project, and were able to gain experience alongside professional jazz musicians from multiple different generations, such as Norma Winstone, Georgina Jackson, Josephine Davies, Shirley Smart, Laura Jurd, Issie Barratt, Nikki Iles, and Yazz Ahmed.

One reviewer from BBC Music magazine commented on the album: ‘There’s something here for everyone and, as ever, the band’s endless energy and enthusiasm in tackling often demanding charts propels both players and listeners through proceedings. It succeeds in its aim as a positive and uplifting endorsement of gender balance.’

She Said features four female composers who have created space in todays musical landscape, who were provided with the open brief of composing a worrk drawing on their particular circumstances. This resulted in tracks such as ‘The Earth Keeps Spinning’, ‘You Do?!’, ‘Wild Oak’ and ‘Nurrquss’.

NYJO is a British jazz orchestra and multifaceted organisation committed to supporting and developing musicians of all styles and standards. It runs participation projects and live performances with young people.

Recently NYJO hosted a performance with saxophonist Tim Farland, and announced three days of vocal workshops for young people in half term, based in London.
nyjo.org.uk