Licorice Soul Records

The Northern Jazz Orchestra came together in 1976 as an antidote to the classical curriculum for music degree students at Huddersfield University. Rehearsals would take place every Tuesday night and the assembled band enjoyed themselves to such an extent that it was decided that they should start looking for gigs. A manager was appointed to secure live bookings and, in typical 1970s student fashion, a committee was formed to decide on material and arrangements.

For the next three years - the duration of their degree course - the NJO made many appearances at clubs across the north, enjoyed several spots on the local independent Radio Hallam and also once played at the Sheffield Jazz Festival.

NJO sets caused quite a stir with their contemporary selection of material, including the likes of Led Zeppelin, ELP and Genesis on their book, all arranged with a strong rock backline.

When graduation loomed for the NJO in 1979 it was decided that an album should be made as a memento for the players. Manager John Dean cut a deal with the SRT label and off they went to Willerby for a day of recording and a day of mixing with Keith Herd. The seventeen assembled players squashed themselves into the tiny Fairview live room and laid down their set. The title of the "That's the One" LP deriving from the cries of relief after a successful take.

After graduating in 1979, the majority of the NJO went their separate ways and impetuous was lost. Although some attempts at continuing the idea were made during subsequent years, the NJO ceased to be in the early 1980s. Several of the players continued as professional musicians, and the musical director and tenor player Rod Mason now works with John Etheridge of Soft Machine and also as part of a reformed Back Door with Colin Hodgkinson.