First off: the USA’s National Youth Orchestra Jazz (NYO Jazz) represents the crème-de-la-crème of American teen talent in jazz, and it’s both humbling and exciting to be in the midst of such unbelievable young talent. The Royal Albert Hall may only be a third full, but the reception is rapturous. That said, and allowing for some nationalistic bias, this late-night Prom is not up to the same standard set by the UK’s National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO) at their last outing at the Proms in 2012.

Things get off to a particularly shaky start with an outrageously virtuosic arrangement (David Berger) of Duke Ellington’s “Braggin’ in Brass”. Of course, it’s fantastic that these youngsters are being challenged by such incredibly demanding material. But two weeks of rehearsal in New York is not enough to get a piece like this concert-ready, let alone ready for international radio and television broadcast. The whole concert is beset by a kind of nervous energy redolent of caffeinated, adrenalised, jet-lagged teens being shoved onto stage long past their bedtime.

When (adult) bandleader Sean Jones gives us a blast of his supremely confident, all-American trumpet, it’s like we can finally relax: there’s a grown-up on stage. The same goes for the iconic, Grammy-award winning Dee Dee Bridgewater (Glinda, The Wiz; 1975), also in her Proms debut. Her wild scatting in Duke Ellington’s “Cottontail” is a particularly unhinged delight.

Make no mistake, these kids will all be off to Juilliard (or wherever the kids in Whiplash go) in a year or two when their exams are done, and it’s thrilling to hear such amazing emerging talent. But a jazz concert that’s ostensibly part of “the world’s greatest classical music festival” can only justify itself if we’re hearing the leading talent of today, not of tomorrow.

Tickets for all 71 Proms are available from just £8 on the BBC Proms 2023 website.