- Specially-commissioned suite by five of Birmingham’s leading composers, performed by Birmingham Jazz Orchestra, marks charity’s golden anniversary
- Student support set beforehand and jam session follows
50 years of Birmingham Jazz will be celebrated on Thursday 8 October in a special evening at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire that recognises the impact the organisation has had on the city’s now thriving jazz scene.
The centrepiece is the premiere of a specially-commissioned suite of music played by the Birmingham Jazz Orchestra. Each of the five movements has been written by one of the city’s leading current composers, inspired by the musical influences from Birmingham Jazz’s five decades.
Birmingham composers Ed Puddick, Alicia Gardener-Trejo, Jonathan Silk, Dave Sear and Alex Astbury each contribute a movement with influences spanning the jazz-rock era of the 1970s, through the maturing compositional style of writers like Kenny Wheeler in the 1990s, to a uniquely contemporary finale that takes inspiration from all five decades.
A support set in the Conservatoire’s Eastside Jazz Club by RBC musicians, led by The Zeb Murphy Quartet sets the scene, and a jam session welcomes all following the main performance.
Over the past fifty years, music charity Birmingham Jazz has built a distinctive live programme that promotes and creates opportunities for musical innovation and artistic achievement. The programme has brought together international and national artists, while giving local musicians and students a platform to write, perform and develop live work that might otherwise not have been possible.
Legendary names including Ronnie Scott, Jan Garbarek, Humphrey Lyttelton, Mike Gibbs, Stan Tracey and Abdullah Ibrahim are just some of the many high profile artists to perform live under the Birmingham Jazz banner over the years.
Phil Rose, Birmingham Jazz, said, “I’m so proud to promote jazz by local, national and international musicians that the people of Birmingham would not otherwise have been able to see in the city. We have also created over the last five decades an inclusive programme full of different musicians from all parts of the UK. Our members and volunteers still give us time and money to deliver a programme of sheer excellence.”
Ed Puddick, Lecturer in Jazz, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, said, “I am so pleased that RBC, Birmingham Jazz and the Birmingham Jazz Orchestra have been able to work together to make this concert such a significant moment in the celebration of 50 years of Birmingham Jazz. It demonstrates the collaborative spirit that will be needed to propel the Midlands jazz scene forward over the next 50 years. The world needs creative artists, live music, and listening audiences, things that Birmingham Jazz have been promoting for half a century, and long may that continue!”
Jeremy Price, Head of Jazz, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, added, “For 50 years Birmingham Jazz has been at the centre of various partnerships that have brought an absolutely stellar procession of jazz greats to perform in and around Birmingham, and have made a major contribution to the City’s identity as a cultural centre for the UK. The fact that increasingly young creative people see Birmingham as a great option to live and work in is testament to their hugely significant contribution to the wider scene.”
Birmingham Jazz Orchestra: Birmingham Jazz at 50 is at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire on Thursday 8 October. Tickets and details at www.bcu.ac.uk/concerts