JazzUK hands over the baton to MusicTank JazzUK, formerly Jazz Services was, for 34 years, the voice of advocacy for Jazz in the UK. As an Arts Council of England National Portfolio Organisation, the charity targeted grant funding for touring, promoters and recording schemes since 2004 creating over 5,000 gigs, providing employment…
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…
On the 16th July 2017 the Observer reported that the Arts Council had rejected an application from the Music Venue Trust for support for venues. I am not surprised the Arts Council rejected the Music Venue Trust’s application, as the majority of the Arts Councils funding decisions are based on the bounded rationality of the…
The Arts Council has recently published funding for the four year national portfolio organisations. The Arts Council’s method of funding the arts in England is fatally flawed. The problem is that the funding decisions are not informed by a coherent art form policy that would hold the Arts Council to account. Further more the Arts…
Jazz Heritage Wales is based at Swansea Metropolitan University’s Library at Townhill Campus. Founded in 1986 by pianist and historian Jen Wilson, they became a registered charity in 1998.Jazz Heritage Wales celebrated their 20th Anniversary with a Gala Evening attended by Dame Cleo Laine and Sir John Dankworth in 2006. Jazz Heritage Wales is run…
In December 2016 Chris was appointed by the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group to act as their Secretariat. The Secretariat team is Chris and Sarah Pellew and details can be found at: All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group
I have just received details of the Will Michael Jazz Education Awards for 2016. The Will Michael Jazz Education Awards Panel is chaired by Ivor Widdison. His colleagues on the Panel are Dr Catherine Tackley, Bill Martin, Andrea Vicari and Richard Michael. The Awards were presented by Leslie East, Chair of the Jazz Committee of the Musicians’ Company,…
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…
John Evans 1934 – 2015 John Evans 1934 – 2015 John was born July 21st 1934 in Cardiff. He started playing clarinet at 15. With his first band rehearsals took place in his front room at home, when their neighbour Mr Rogers couldn’t take any more he would tap on the living room window and…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
In the Guardian on the 28th May 2015 “Arts Council boss promises more of a two way street”. The new CEO of the Arts Council Darren Henley was at the Parliamentary Jazz Awards at the House of Commons on the 10th March 2015 when I made an acceptance speech. I drew attention to the appallingly…
An excellent article in June’s edition of Jazzwise by Andy Robson. NYJO are celebrating fifty years. They used to say life begins at forty but in this case, life roars ahead at fifty. Congratulations to Bill Ashton, Nigel Tully, Jack Fallow, Mark Armstrong and the rest of the NYJO team.
The Arts Council published a policy for the support of jazz in 1996 and then 4 years later it was dropped in favour – as I recall – of “the bigger picture”. Needless to say no real resources had been allocated to the policy. In Paragraph 62 the Arts Council say clearly that they will…
In 1993 the Arts Council announced they were conducting a review of jazz. Jazz In , the precursor to Jazz UK published an editorial on the review. Reading the editorial will engender a profound sense of deja vu. Please see Arts Council Review of Jazz 1993
I have just completed a paper on “Public investment of jazz – a coherent policy for jazz, changing demographics, live music and coping with the increasing supply of jazz musicians”. This paper examines: A level playing field for jazz The paucity of public funding for jazz The lack of a coherent policy for jazz in…
Firstly the Arts Council’s magazine Create – vanity publishing in an age of austerity. I looked into the Arts Council’s publication of their magazine “Create”. “The publication cost £16,999 to commission the essays. Nineteen contributors in all, of which only three contibutors gave their services for free. £1062 an essay – nice work if you…
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…