Congratulations to the National Youth Jazz Orchestra celebrating fifty years

In the glorious surroundings of Southwark Cathedral the politicians  nonsense of broken Britain was kicked firmly in the seat of the pants and into the Thames. The National Youth Jazz Orchestra and the National Youth Choir of Great Britain ably led by Mark Armstrong and Ben Parry produced an evening of memorable music of Duke…

The Arts Council has announced a rescue package but has suspended national lottery grants that would help jazz musicians and jazz promoters organise tours and plan ahead – to organise a tour or project you have to plan over a year ahead. The suspension of the national lottery grants will now add to the misery. The…

There was a leader article, “Opera is often derided as elitist”, in the Guardian on the 28th September 2017. Regrettably the article ignores the fact that opera in the UK receives a disproportionate amount of public subsidy compared to other art forms and like the banks are too big to fail. In a time of…

Until May 13th at midnight I was the Director of Jazz Services for 29 years until I retired at midnight on May 13th 2014. Jazz Services is the national organisation funded by Arts Council England since 1970 to provide services in information, touring, education, communications and publishing to the UK jazz community. Please see www.jazzservices.org.uk  for…

On the 2nd April I wrote to the Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport. My letter is printed below. “Dear Mr Whittingdale Re: The Culture White Paper I read the Culture White Paper and I have a number of comments that I trust you will find helpful. Perhaps it might help to explain…

On the 10th of September I attended a performance of City Lights at the Cadogan Hall sponsored by Citi and organised by Edicis. The event was to celebrate 125 years of British film. City Lights is Charlie Chaplin’s silent masterpiece that was produced after the introduction of the Jazz Singer in the Autumn of 1927…