Invoice Ashton was not unduly troubled by self-doubt and held sturdy opinions on many topics. Particularly he hated the hoops that Arts Council England made him leap by to acquire infinitesimal funding for the Nationwide Youth Jazz Orchestra, in comparison with the massive sums that routinely go to opera.
When a number one jazz luminary noticed to him that opera could be all proper if it weren’t for the singing, Invoice responded: “You mean you can put up with the ludicrous plots, the pantomime scenery and the ham acting?”
Naturally expressing such views didn’t make him well-liked at ACE, and didn’t ease the trail of his funding functions.
