JANINE IRONS, OBE, FRSA
Co-Founder & Chief Executive
Janine Irons OBE is the Chief Executive of Tomorrow’s Warriors, a pioneering talent development agency, music educator and creative producer specialising in jazz co-founded by Janine with Dr Gary Crosby OBE in 1991. Tomorrow’s Warriors develops,champions and provides a platform for a community of artists, audiences and musical leaders, with a particular focus on black and female musicians, and those who face financial or other barriers to pursuing or developing successful, sustainable careers in music. The organisation also manages two orchestras: Nu Civilisation Orchestra, which evolved from Tomorrow’s Warriors’ artistic programme and Gary Crosby’s ensemble, Jazz Jamaica All Stars.
Janine trained in classical piano and contemporary dance, and in her teenage years was lead vocalist in a funk band. She worked briefly for Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers in the New Music Department before heading to the City of London where she worked for 13 years in the London offices of two international financial institutions. In the City she led on major office relocations and refurbishments, installation of telecoms/computer networks and commissioning of a new accounting system. Her final role before setting up her own business was as Systems & Premises Manager for the trading arm of a Hungarian bank.
As an arts leader and consultant, Janine is a passionate advocate of excellence, authentic diversity and inclusive approaches in the design and delivery of music education and the presentation of black music. She is an experienced creative producer who also founded and ran jazz record label, Dune Records from 1997-2012 achieving two Mercury Prize nominations, alongside acting as manager/agent to several UK jazz artists. Today she is an enthusiastic mentor to women in and beyond the music industry.
Janine was awarded the MBE for Services to the Music Industry in HM The Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2006. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and, in 2019, was recognised for her work in the Alternative Power 100 Music List, an honours listestablished by SheSaid.So, a global network of women in the music industry, as a response to Billboard’s Power 100 List with the aim to challenge conventional music industry standards. In 2020 Janine was the recipient of a Music Week Women In Music Award and inducted into the Roll of Honour that highlights individuals who are game-changers in the music industry. In 2021, Janine and Gary were recipients of the Music Producer’s Guild (MPG) Inspiration Award, in recognition of three successful decades of inspirational leadership in the music industry. Janine and Gary also accepted a special Impact Award on behalf of Tomorrow’s Warriors at the 2021 Jazz FM Awards and Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Award for Community in 2022.
In 2023, Janine was awarded the OBE for Services to the Music Industry in HM The King’s Birthday Honours, and the Parliamentary Jazz Award for Services to Jazz. In 2024, Janine and Gary each received an Inspire Ambition Award from Morley College for their transformative work nurturing young musicians and their profound local and global impact, shaping the future of jazz education and performance. In 2025, Janine was appointed to the Music Performance Committee at Cambridge University. Also in 2025, Gary and Janine received the Sir Charles Grove Award from Making Music for their Outstanding Contribution to British Music.
Janine is responsible for business strategy, development and organisational resilience.
DR GARY CROSBY, OBE, Hon FTL
Co-Founder & Artistic Director
Double bassist Dr Gary Crosby OBE was a founding member of Jazz Warriors and is the founder/leader of multi award-winning bands, Gary Crosby’s Nu Troop and Jazz Jamaica, with whom he has toured extensively. With Janine Irons OBE he co-founded the award-winning creative producer and talent development company, Tomorrow’s Warriors and the independent jazz label Dune Records, focusing on black jazz talent, female musicians and those facing socio-economic barriers to pursuing a career in the music industry.
Gary has worked with numerous musicians including Ray Carless, Roger Thomas, George Lee, Ed Bentley, Adrian Reid, Frank Roberts, Courtney Pine, Steve Williamson, Orphy Robinson, John Stevens, Gary Bartz, Mal Waldron, Eddie Henderson, Stanley Turrentine, Joey Calderazzo, Larry Coryell, Jimmy Witherspoon, Sonny Fortune, Carmen Lundy, Marlene Shaw, Ernest Ranglin, Sonny Bradshaw, Myrna Hague, Lord Tanamo, Marjorie Whylie, and Hugh Masekela. His albums include Skaravan, The Jamaican Beat Vols 1 & 2, Double Barrel, and Motorcity Roots with Jazz Jamaica; Migrations with Nu Troop; and Massive (Guardian and The Times Top Ten Albums of the Year list and BBC Radio Jazz Award for Best Band) with Jazz Jamaica All Stars. He coordinated the album One Love: Tribute to Bob Marley and produced Denys Baptiste’s Mercury-nominated album, Be Where You Are. He also worked on Baptiste’s multimedia project and album Let Freedom Ring. As artistic director, Gary has produced Lively Up Festival 2012, Catch A Fire and The Trojan Story celebrating Jamaican culture; with Nu Civilisation Orchestra he has collaborated with Lemn Sissay and Dennis Bovell (Population), BBC Concert Orchestra (The Harlem Suite), BBC Singers (Sacred Concerts) and Clod Ensemble (Black Saint and the Sinner Lady – nominated for the Sky Arts Dance Award in 2024).
His awards include an OBE for Services to Music, BBC Radio Jazz Award for Services to Jazz, a Parliamentary Jazz Award for Music Education, Special Parliamentary Jazz Award for Outstanding Contribution to Jazz and a BASCA Gold Badge Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Music Industry. He also has an honorary fellowship at Trinity Laban Conservatoire for Music and Dance and is a member of the Jamaica Jazz Hall of Fame for consistent contribution to Jamaican Music. He was the recipient of The Queen’s Medal for Music 2018 which recognises the major influence of an individual or group on the musical life of the UK. In 2020 he was the recipient, with Janine Irons, of the Music Producers’ Guild Inspiration Award for his pivotal role in developing and elevating young talent and, in 2021, he accepted the Jazz FM Impact Award with Janine Irons on behalf of Tomorrow’s Warriors. Also in 2021, Gary was awarded an honorary doctorate, Doctor of Music honoris causa, by the University of London Institute in Paris. Gary and Janine also accepted Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Award for Community in 2022. In 2024, Gary and Janine each received an Inspire Ambition Award from Morley College for their transformative work nurturing young musicians and their profound local and global impact, shaping the future of jazz education and performance. Also in 2024, Gary was elected to the Ivors Academy Senate to champion songwriters and composers at the heart of its governance. In 2025, The Royal Academy of Music conferred Honorary Membership on Gary. Also in 2025, Gary and Janine received the Sir Charles Grove Award from Making Music for their Outstanding Contribution to British Music.
Gary is responsible for artistic direction at Tomorrow’s Warriors and Nu Civilisation Orchestra.