Arts Council England – The Next Ten Years – The Conversation, Discussing a future strategy for arts, museums, libraries 2020 to 2030

The Autumn Culture  Preview in  the New Review  in the Observer on the 1st September 2019 was disappointingly narrow in its outlook. The highlights were heavily skewed towards London and limited in the coverage of different genres of music. There were 11 mentions generally, on film, television and books with 12 mentions of art, theatre,…

Whilst this paper deals with jazz musicians and volunteer promoters it would be equally applicable to many genres from folk to brass bands and from indie music to rap. This paper reinforces the findings of the Impact of Covid-19 on DCMS Sectors: First Report by the select committee for Digital Culture Media and Sport. MPs…

Joshua Reynolds when he returned from his painter’s apprenticeship in Rome picked up a copy of Samuel Johnson’s biography of Richard Savage and read it “while he was standing with his arm leaning against a chimney-piece. It seized his attention so strongly, that, not being able to lay down the book until he had finished,…

The Knowledge. Jazz by John Fordham was published by Quadrille on the 2nd July and is priced at £10. The book is one of a series of information-led pocket guides with the purpose of introducing a range of subjects ranging from Red wine to Opera via Whiskey and Stargazing. See www.quadrille.co.uk Since 1978 John Fordham…

Congratulation to Oliver Dowden Secretary of State Culture, Media and Sport on listening and delivering a £1.5 billion rescue package for the arts. However there are caveats; where and how will the money be spent, who will deliver the money to beleaguered organisations, especially volunteer promoters and musicians? Will under-represented musics find a place in…

In the Guardian on the 21st March 2018 there was an article, “Opera is many things to me. Elitist is not one of them”. Opera is not elitest as music it is the inequality of funding that sets it apart and one could argue that it is conspicuous consuption writ large with two opera houses…