Jazz
is a popular musical style in
Birmingham
and has been so since the 1920s.
[1]
Venues such as the
Birmingham Palais
pioneered British jazz
[2]
and lead to the establishment of a string of jazz clubs in the city such as The Rhythm Club and the Hot Club.
[3]
Today jazz remains a prominent part of the cities culture; events such as the Harmonic Festival, the Mostly Jazz Festival and the annual International Jazz Festival run each year along with
Birmingham Jazz
, an organisation that promotes and commissions dozens of jazz concerts every year.
[4]
Early jazz
[
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]
Jazz
has been popular in Birmingham since the 1920s,
[1]
an era when interest in the music within England was otherwise largely confined to
London
.
[5]
The
Birmingham Palais
was one of the pioneering venues of British jazz and opened in
Ladywood
in 1920,
[2]
hosting early touring bands from the United States such as the
Frisco Jazz Band
in 1920,
[2]
Benny Peyton's Jazz Kings
in 1921,
[2]
the Paramount Six
[2]
and the
Southern Rag-a-Jazz Orchestra
in 1922,
and Bill Shenkman's Buffalo Orchestra in 1923.
The Palais also maintained its own resident bands that combined notable visiting American musicians such as
Sidney Bechet
[2]
and
Emile Christian
[2]
with emerging local musicians who would go on to establish the native
British jazz
tradition, such as
Bill Harty
,
Billy Jones
,
Jack Raine
,
and
Jack Payne
.
Post-war jazz
[
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]
Jazz was still largely unknown in other cities outside London when it was revived in Birmingham in the late 1940s.
[11]
A highly successful series of jazz concerts were held at
Birmingham Town Hall
from 1946, and the city's jazz clubs re-emerged with the opening of the Rhythm Club and the Hot Club in 1948.
[3]
From the late 1980s the saxophonist
Julian Arguelles
and his brother drummer
Steve Arguelles
were major players in contemporary European jazz.
Contemporary jazz
[
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]
The Harmonic Festival, the Mostly Jazz Festival and the annual International Jazz Festival run alongside the year-round contemporary programme presented by promoters and development agency Birmingham Jazz, directed by
Tony Dudley-Evans
. The musician-led Cobweb Collective also present regular jazz sessions in several venues around the city. Many other venues support the jazz scene in the city, often promoted by
Birmingham Jazz
. Jazz musicians associated with the city include
Andy Hamilton
,
Soweto Kinch
,
Ronnie Ball
,
Tony Kinsey
,
Douglas "Dougle" Robinson
[4]
and
King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys
,
[13]
a group formed in 1986 around saxophonist-singer Mark Skirving (born 13 March 1966, pseudonym "King Pleasure")
[Note 1]
originally called Some Like it Hot (later The Satellites) before assuming the current (as of 2015) name.
[14]
The busiest promoter of contemporary jazz in the city is the voluntary organisation
Birmingham Jazz
, which mounts dozens of concerts every year featuring local, national and international artists in venues such as the CBSO Centre, the mac arts centre, the Glee Club and Symphony Hall. It enjoys the support of the city council and the
Arts Council of England
and also commissions new works from both local performers and performers of international standing. Birmingham is also home to Eastside Jazz Club, located at the
Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
.
Notes
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Stephens, W. B. (1964).
"Social History before 1815"
. In Stephens, W. B. (ed.).
The City of Birmingham
. The Victoria History Of The County Of Warwick. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 209?222
. Retrieved
2013-01-20
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Kernfeld, Barry (ed.),
"Nightclubs and other venues"
,
The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz
(2nd ed.), Oxford: Oxford Music Online
, retrieved
2013-01-20
- ^
a
b
Briggs, Asa (1960),
"Social History since 1815"
, in Stephens, W.B. (ed.),
The City of Birmingham
, The Victoria History Of The County Of Warwick, vol. VII, Oxford: Oxford University Press (published 1964), pp. 223?245
, retrieved
2013-08-04
- ^
a
b
Nick Byng (July 2008).
"Birmingham jazz scene"
.
Music Features
. BBC
. Retrieved
12 August
2014
.
- ^
Collier, James Lincoln (1983),
Louis Armstrong, an American genius
, New York: Oxford University Press, p. 250,
ISBN
0195033779
- ^
Sutcliffe, Anthony; Smith, Roger (1974),
Birmingham 1939-1970
, History of Birmingham, vol. 3, London: Oxford University Press, p. 317,
ISBN
0192151827
- ^
Justine Halifax (13 July 2012).
"Music: King Pleasure And The Biscuit Boys play Birmingham jazz festival"
.
Birmingham Mail
. Retrieved
12 August
2014
.
One of Birmingham's most successful musical exports…
- ^
Ian Carr
et al.
(2004)
The Rough Guide to Jazz
, Rough Guides Ltd., London
ISBN
1-84353-256-5
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Chilton, John, ed. (2004),
Who's Who of British Jazz
(2nd ed.), New York: Continuum International Publishing Group,
ISBN
0826472346
, retrieved
2013-01-20
- Toynbee, Jason (2005), "Birmingham", in Shepherd, John; Horn, David; Laing, Dave (eds.),
Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World
, vol. 7, New York: Continuum, pp. 354?355,
ISBN
0826474365
External links
[
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]
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