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My Experience of Youth Music - The Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra
Pies, rugby and George Orwell are usually the first things that spring to mind when the town of Wigan is mentioned. However, for over twenty-five years Wigan has boasted one of the countries most high profile and respected Youth Jazz Orchestras in the country.
My time in the Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra was ultimately life-changing and enabled memories and friendships that will last forever. Many people reading this magazine will have experienced youth big bands, brass bands, orchestras etc. and understand what a pivotal role they play in developing both musical and social skills in their members.
At ten years old I could barely hold my trumpet, but remember standing proudly at the end of the Wigan Youth Swing Band trumpet section. Even though I probably mimed the whole gig, I remember the absolute joy and pride of being involved in the band. When the Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra followed our performance and began their set it felt like I was in the presence of superstars! They shone in their white jackets emblazoned with the WYJO emblem and their names embroidered underneath, I remember thinking I would give anything to get my hands on one of those!
The band was started in 1978 by Gordon Dodd, but when Ian Darrington traversed the Pennines in 1982 and took over the running of the band it moved from strength to strength. Over the past twenty-five years the band has literally traveled the world, played with some of the most famous names in jazz and won a cabinet full of awards, including Radio Big Band competition on a number of occasions. The popularity of the band and the enthusiasm of Ian Darrington, along with a group of dedicated WYJO supporters led the way to the making of the Wigan Jazz Club and then the International Wigan Jazz festival which has featured artists such as; The Woody Herman Big Band, Arturo Sandoval, Freddie Hubbard and Diana Krall. I asked Ian what he initially hoped to achieve when he took over the band:
‘Ever since first hearing Maynard Ferguson and his band in 1973 I had a burning desire to have my own band. It had to be an exciting, entertaining band and it had to have trumpet players that could play the high stuff. These were the ingredients that really I aimed to have with WYJO. In the early days of WYJO I also listened to a lot of the Count Basie Orchestra and the Buddy Rich Band. This influenced my aims and ambition too. I tried hard to get the punch and excitement of Buddy Rich and that wonderful full ensemble sound of the Count Basie Band. Through all of this I aimed to play some of the great charts from those three bands. In all of this my ambition was to get the best out of the players and to take the band as far as I could’
Rehearsing for three hours, twice a week, with an average of a gig a week takes a lot of commitment and tended to replace any normal teenage activities! However the benefits of being a member of WYJO were and are enormous and competition is stiff to gain a place in any section. I joined the band on 4th trumpet at the age of thirteen and progressed through the section to play lead trumpet when I was 16. By this time I was hooked and knew that if it was possible, I would love to play professionally. There is no doubt that I and many other people would not be fortunate enough to make their living through music if WYJO had not existed. A great number of ex-WYJO players are working as professional musicians e.g Andy Prior, Alistair White, Andy Greenwood (currently playing lead trumpet in the West End show‘Wicked’), David Hitchen, Malcolm Melling and Craig Wild to name a few! I spoke to some of them about their memories of being in the band:
Malcolm Melling (who now plays lead trumpet in the West End show ‘Dirty Dancing’and has worked with Petula Clark and Westlife) remembers fondly his time with the band.
‘ There was a great camaraderie in the band and a fantastic social scene. We would fund raise for our trips by going round all the pubs in Wigan playing carols! I visited Hong Kong and America with the band, these trips were the first time I had been abroad or travelled on a plane.’
In 1987 WYJO performed what was to be one of their most memorable concerts to date with the late Maynard Ferguson. It was a huge compliment to Ian and the band that Maynard trusted them to play his notoriously difficult charts. Malcolm played lead trumpet with the band that night and remembers it as one of the highlights of his musical career to date.
‘ It was an amazing night! Maynard was really nice, he invited me into his dressing room and said; ‘Hey kid! Do you want to know how to play a double C?’ ‘Yes, of course!’ I said ‘Well, just press on as hard as you can!’
Learning a guest artist’s music was one of the most challenging aspects of being in the band. Ian placed a lot of emphasis on sight-reading, wisely informing us that this skill would be of great use to us if we wanted to play professionally.
Craig Wild, who recently appeared on BBC’s ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ played lead trumpet in the band from 1994 to 2000 explained to me how the experience of playing in the jazz orchestra prepared him for a career in the music industry.
‘We would turn up at ten in the morning and have a whole concert of new music to rehearse for the evening’s concert. The guest artist would expect the band to play the to the same standard as professionals. It was really hard work and a lot of pressure but it was great experience and preparation for working as a musician’
Over the past 20 years WYJO has developed a strong relationship with the American trumpet-playing icon Bobby Shew. I was fortunate enough to have lessons with Bobby from the age of 13 and take part in many performances with him throughout the country. his influence on me and everyone in the band cannot be over-estimated. Other artists that have worked with the band include, Don Lusher, Georgie Fame, Kenny Baker and Phil Woods. Having contact with musicians of such a high calibre taught us invaluable lessons that no amount of practice or books could have taught us. Ian recalls the reactions of some of the guest artists who have worked with the Youth band.
‘I can remember every single artist that we have worked with and every single reaction too. I often re-live those concerts and those special moments. Bobby Shew said some great things about WYJO and encouraged us all so much. James Morrison seemed to really enjoy the band - he commented that they were great fun to work with. I also remember recently reading a note to me from Phil Woods - it just said "Great to work with a band that really swings and is well rehearsed" Look forward to our next gig together. All the best Phil Woods - that made me feel very proud! ‘
With so many memorable occasions in the band’s history I wondered what Ian considered to be his personal highlights. Of course the Maynard concert was top of the list, working and recording an album with Bobby Shew and an amazing concert in Disneyland, California 1988, in which we shared the bill with the Count Basie Orchestra. This concert is also one of my favourite memories, but as a fourteen year old I regret to say I was probably more interested in ‘Space Mountain’ than the Basie band!
As anyone involved in youth music ensembles will know, keeping a steady flow of keen and talented young musicians year on year is not an easy task. I wondered whether the many distractions available to teenagers today had affected the band’s intake in recent years.
‘The players are just as good now as they have always been and yes they have remained very committed to the band. However what has changed is the pressure that is placed on them all from schools. More and more seems to be expected of them - they constantly seem to be having exams - their space and spare time seems to have been swallowed up to a point where it is genuinely difficult for them to attend every rehearsal. Of course schools do a good job generally but I really wish more credit could be given to the value and benefit of being a member of a band or orchestra. Studies and research has been carried out on this but the value of being a member of a band is still greatly undervalued.’ Even though being born in Wigan is not necessarily considered to be fortunate, it has been something I am immensely proud of. I often wonder what path my life would have taken if I had not had the opportunities that were provided for me from such a young age. Thankfully, the Wigan band seems to go from strength to strength, most recently Jonathan Murray (18 year old trumpet player) gained a full four year scholarship to study at the Manhattan School of Music in New York. Ian’s enthusiasm for the band has not dwindled over the past twenty-five years he still has great plans for the future.
‘Providing that Wigan Council continues to support the band and continues to support Instrumental Music teaching then the future is looking very good indeed. Not sure how many years into the future I can continue as musical director - medium term is certainly no problem for me - long term it will probably need a younger person with endless amounts of energy (perhaps something like I was in 1977). Resources for this type of music education have never been as good or as available and providing we offer good quality teaching to kids then we will always have good players. A celebration of 50 years of WYJO would be due in 2026 - that to me is a real possibility. ‘
Let’s hope it happens, what a great party that would be!!
For more information on the Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra please see www.wiganjazzclub.co.uk
