Sir, - As a non-profit organisation whose role it is to promote the development of jazz and improvised music in Ireland we would like to respond to Michael Dervan's Front Row column (The Irish Times, August 28th).Most of Mr Dervan's piece bemoans the current state of classical music in Ireland and how poorly it has been served by the Arts Council in contrast to other disciplines such as drama. In pointing out that jazz is the major beneficiary of the increase in this year's Arts Councils music budget, Mr Dervan creates a very misleading impression that jazz is being financed at the expense of classical music. With due respect to Mr Dervan, funding for jazz has, to quote the Arts Council, "historically been at an unrealistically low level" (Arts Matters, May 1997).In 1996 classical music (including opera) received in excess of £1.5 million pounds from the Arts Council. Jazz received a grand total of £27,000. This year, even with Mr Dervan's much-vaunted increase in funding, jazz received £50,000 from the Arts Council, against more than £1.6 million for classical music.It is also worth pointing out that unlike classical music, jazz does not have the benefit of having any ensembles funded by RTE, (the RTESO, the RTECO, the RTE Vanbrugh Quartet), nor does it have its own radio station (FM3) or state-funded schools (RIAM, DIT College of Music).Ireland lags far behind its European partners in assisting the development of this vitally important 20th-century art form and the Council's efforts to redress this should be applauded, rather than being seen as undermining the relative health of other musical genres. - Yours, etc.,Gerry Godley,General Manager,Improvised Music Company,South William Street,Dublin 2.