From 1955 to 1957, he was educated at
Rossall School which soon developed into a career in the
Royal Air Force doing
National Service, before he then went to
Oxford University in 1957, where he first began playing jazz professionally at functions and competitions, founding the
Oxford University Big Band. On leaving university in 1960, he went to France and worked as a professional musician in the American army bases for about nine months. Returning to London he started to join various blues bands, while supply teaching, mostly French. At one school, Highbury County Grammar School in Islington, he was immensely popular among the boys for his relaxed style, regaling them with anecdotes about his show business contacts as well as snippets related to his National Service. After working with Red Bludd’s Bluesicians, he founded what became NYJO with Pat Evans and Mike Kershaw in 1965. Ashton was highly regarded as an indefatigable promoter of British jazz talent, by organising tours, producing recordings, encouraging established players to collaborate with the band and publishing the works of young jazz composers. He was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to jazz in 1978 and
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours. Ashton had also received the
BBC Radio 2 Jazz Award in 1995 for his Services to Jazz, a Silver Medal from the
Worshipful Company of Musicians, and was a Fellow of
Leeds College of Music. ==Personal life and death==