Taken from the album "Steaming Jazz" released on Gateway Records in 1985 (Gateway 001). Illustrious big band The Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra was formed in 1976 by the Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council as a training group for young jazz players in the region. The orchestra really started to blossom under the leadership of Ian Darrington who was appointed MD in 1978 and is now closely associated with the Wigan Jazz Club Big Band, which features grown-up former members of the WYJO. The Club plays host to its own annual jazz festival and Ian Darrington was awarded the MBE in 2001 for his untiring work with the orchestra. "Steaming Jazz" was their first recording and the LP was released on their own Gateway label, part funded by Wigan Council. Since then the orchestra has returned regularly to the studio, and have released ten albums thus far, of which, this LP remains the only one not yet released on CD. Over the years many big-name composers have been happy to add arrangements to the book of the WYJO and the big band funk of Sax Bap was penned by notable arranger Peter Birkby, now a lecturer at Sheffield University. |
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