Spotlight: Projjol Banerjea, Chair
When did you first get involved with NYJO, and what inspired you to join the Board?
And when did you step into the role of Chair?
In 2021, soon after lockdown restrictions were lifted (seems like an eternity ago now), NYJO commenced on a trustee recruitment drive. When I stumbled across the role, I wasn’t familiar with the charity. However, after reading about it, talking to the other trustees and management, and attending a few gigs, I realised it was at the intersection of many things I cared deeply about, namely (jazz) music, education and youth.
I was motivated to apply and lucky to be selected. The experience has been everything it said on the tin and more! Earlier this year, after a period of serving as the interim Chair, I was excited to step into the role in a permanent capacity. As a violinist manqué, I’ve long realised my most meaningful contributions are behind the scenes or, increasingly, behind a desk.
Since becoming Chair, what have been some of your standout moments or proudest highlights? What is it about NYJO that you love most? We’d love to hear your perspective.
Over the past few years, NYJO has been a source of inspiration and joy. For an organisation that, frankly, suffered immensely during Covid-19, it’s been hugely encouraging to play a small part in helping it bounce back stronger than ever.
My favourite NYJO experiences have involved watching our performers, whether our legendary big band comprising our Emerging Professionals (EPs), or our Under-18s ensemble (which I’m partial to), or even our new Latin Collective. To my mind, the stage is where the magic happens.
Most recently, our James Baldwin-inspired The Fire Next Time production at World Heart Beat was exquisite. I’ve been fortunate to witness this incredible performance on a few occasions, and it blows me away every single time. I’m elated we’ve managed to record it for posterity and eagerly looking forward to getting my hands on the vinyl.
In your view, what makes NYJO unique? What’s its special ingredient or USP?
NYJO’s most formidable asset is its people – the team, my fellow trustees, our supporters, and the hundreds of beneficiaries who all contribute towards making it a little better every single day. Over the course of my professional career, I’ve been fortunate to be involved with a few amazing organisations, and this is up there with the very best.
NYJO is marking its 60th anniversary this year – an amazing milestone. What do you hope the next chapter will bring?
A 60-year legacy is an incredible responsibility, and its testament to both the resilience and relevance of this organisation. So much has changed in the last decades, but what’s stayed the same and is perhaps even significant than ever is NYJO’s ability to make a positive impact on the lives of young people.
We learn from our past as we shape our future. I hope we continue to challenge, innovate, and inspire, across the diversity of people we touch and programmes we deliver.
NYJO is, at its heart, a charity. What would you say to the individuals who make our work possible?
NYJO would not be where it is without the generous support of so many benefactors, institutions as well as individuals. Especially today, in a time where social contracts are eroding, music education is receding, and youth voices are flailing, I’m thankful that we can continue to deliver on our mission to nurture and support young talent at the start of their career, when they’re most vulnerable and impressionable.
On the institutional front, we are immensely grateful for the continued patronage from the Arts Council and incredibly proud to be a National Portfolio Organisation. Among individuals, I’d like to make explicit mention of the Bracegirdle legacy we were fortunate to receive a few years ago that has served as the bedrock of our long-term strategy.
Of course, every bit goes a long way, and we appreciate all the help we receive from every corner of Britain and beyond.
What jazz (or other music!) have you been listening to lately that our members might enjoy checking out? Any recommendations?
The jazz world is having a bit of an Olivia Cuttill moment (she’s a NYJO EP!). Her new album ‘And Writing And Singing And Tunes To Be Swingin’ is currently on my turntable and its spectacular! Just last week she took home honours at the Parliamentary Jazz Awards.
I just booked tickets to watch AR Rahman perform with the Orchestral Qawwali Project at the Royal Albert Hall in April next year and, in the process, have been re-listening to their last album – an immersive and transcendental experience.
In the lead-up to our upcoming 60th Anniversary celebrations, I curled up over the weekend with Nina Simone’s ‘Fodder On My Wings’. Hers is a voice that keeps on giving.
And finally, will our members have a chance to meet you at our 60th Anniversary celebration on 15 November?
Yes, absolutely – I wouldn’t miss it for the world!
Interview with Olivia Cuttill, Emerging Professional
What first drew you to get involved with NYJO?
Since being in uni’, I’d heard of NYJO a lot, and people spoke very highly of it, and I went to go watch the Hermeto Pascoal gig at the Barbican, and it was so amazing. So, I applied, and a few months later, I was on the Nikki Yeoh ‘Nucleus’ project.
Tell us about some of your NYJO highlights so far.
Any favourite performances, projects or moments?
Nikki Yeoh’s ‘Nucleus’ project was a big highlight. There was a moment that was quite a long flugel solo with drums. I was very, very nervous when I first joined NYJO, because everyone spoke so highly of it, and it was so prestigious, and everyone was so good. So, to get that solo was exciting, and we played in Milton Court. That was a really good gig, I really enjoyed that.
more recently, the last project I was on, which was the Abdullah Ibrahim Township Jazz. I absolutely loved it. I loved that music so much. Both times we’ve played it (we played at We Out Here, and we played it at Peckham Levels), the gigs were just amazing. I just absolutely loved it.
Your upcoming project Fodder on My Wings sounds fascinating – how did it come about?
I really, really love large ensembles, and it’s always been a dream of mine to arrange or write for one, but I was just waiting for the right thing to come along.
I don’t listen to classical music, but I listen to a lot of old American songbooks such as Ella Fitzgerald plays Rogers and Hart, with these orchestras. I’ve always thought, wow, I would so love to do something like that.
I also often listen to, like, soundtracks of some of my old favourite cartoons, like The Jungle Book or 101 Dalmatians, with huge orchestras, because they’re incredible! The music is truly amazing!
And then, one day, I was listening to ‘Fodder on My Wings’ and thought, maybe this is it. And it’s funny, because it isn’t something that’s a large ensemble that I thought, oh my god, I’d love to transcribe this. It is just something that I thought, this could be amazing.
I think I was just feeling quite inspired, because I’d been in so many NYJO projects and everything was so different. All the band leaders were so different too and I felt like I’d picked up loads of things from them all. Finally, I felt ready, like, I think this is the time. This album is kind of speaking to me that it would be perfect for NYJO.
NYJO were very supportive. Straight away, they said, let’s have a meeting and talk about it. And I thought, ooh, I wonder what we’re going to talk about. And basically, in the meeting, they were like, let’s do it, we love the idea, let’s go ahead with it. And so, it began.
What is it about this particular Nina Simone album that really captured your imagination?
Nina Simone is such an inspiration. So many of her albums have been massive influences on me and my writing, and I love telling stories in my music. So many of our songs are stories. And Nina’s got a lot of that, and I think it’s great. I think having stories and songs make them so much more accessible to a wider audience, because we all love a story, we’ve all watched films, and even if you’ve never heard jazz before, you know.
I think Nina Simone’s ‘Fodder on my Wings’ album is so vast. It is so eclectic. There are so many styles just in one album. There’s swing, there’s reggae, there’s calypso…. Something that I really liked about it is it’s quite ‘show-timey’ – that kind of reminds me of those old films with the really dramatic instrumentation.
I just think it had so many things in it and styles that NYJO has played. But all in one album. And I thought, wow, that’s really and you don’t really get that very often. And at the same time, nobody knows this album. Nobody speaks of this album and it’s kind of just disappeared. And I thought, this is such a brilliant opportunity to play, firstly, an incredible album, but also shine some light on this album that nobody’s really talking about.
What can audiences expect from the premiere on 15 November?
I think they’re going to be dancing – a lot! There’s a lot of energy and a lot of stories. They’ll learn a lot about Nina’s life just in her lyrics. The album has got everything – there’s massive highs and there’s massive lows. It’s very intense and it keeps your attention. We’ve got incredible musicians and amazing guests playing it, so I think people should expect to be captivated. I think they’re going to have a really good time. It’s going to be an amazing night.
You’ve just released your second album, …Writing and Singing and Tunes to be Swingin’ – congratulations! What’s next for you?
We just finished the 10-day tour, and we are playing London Jazz Festival on 22 November at Morocco Bound.
I’m just going to keep writing – I’m always writing every single day and thinking of songs, so I’m not sure. I’ve purposely not really booked very many gigs in, because I want a little bit of space to write new material and start the next thing. There will be more music, there will be more albums, there will be more, but at the moment, it’s just writing. That’s what’s happening.