Bill Ashton: a celebration at Ronnie Scott’s

Just over a year since the sad death of Bill Ashton OBE, who was instrumental in the development of many successful UK jazz musicians since 1965, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club celebrated his life and music.

Miles Ashton shares a joke with the audience (and band) @rw_crowley

The Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra - featuring many of the UK’s finest musicians - paid tribute to Bill with his younger son, Miles, acting as MC. Much of the music had often been played and recorded by the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO) under Bill’s leadership. 

Also in the audience were Bill’s widow Kay and other members of their family. But, actually, many of the musicians on stage and in the audience regarded Bill as family: that was often the case long after we left NYJO.

The Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra is led by the witty and entertaining Pete Long. Sitting on the chairs are musicians who regularly appear on the albums and stages alongside the biggest names in UK and European jazz. Jay Craig played baritone sax here, as he did for several years with Buddy Rich, Dave O'Higgins performs tenor sax regularly with Darius Brubeck, son of Dave. Both were members of NYJO when I was involved with the band in the early 1980s. 

Composing and arranging duties had been taken on regularly over the years by this celebratory gig’s stars, including trombonists Mark Nightingale and Callum Au, as well as trumpeter Mark Armstrong who took over the MD role of NYJO when it finally became too much for Bill. Also on trumpet was the extraordinary Freddie Gavita, featured on The Perfumed Garden, while trombonist Daniel Hyams’s solo on Au’s arrangement of September in the Rain was beautiful.

On vocal duty were Freddie Benedict, who performed the very special Paris is for Lovers, and Jacqui Hicks - her versions of Much Too Much and New in London took many of us back a fair few years.

There were a number of Paul Hart compositions to celebrate the creative collaboration between that under-rated musician, Bill and NYJO. In particular, the final song of the first set was Remembrance, with one of the world’s finest jazz flautists - Gareth Lockrane - taking the lead.

This was a joyous night featuring Bill Ashton’s compositions, collaborations and arrangements, all performed by a stellar group of UK musicians. As it ended with Bill’s own Don’t Go To Her, the packed Ronnie Scott’s joined in a celebration of outstanding musicians remembering the man who made an outstanding contribution to the British Big Band.

The Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra performs regularly at the club, and several of the band are also booked to appear in the West Side Jazz Orchestra on 6 May