A Fond Farewell to Fusebox and JazzintoDoncaster

The vibrant, diverse jazz scene in the North has a lot to thank the voluntary promoter sector for; a huge number of jazz venues in the North are run entirely by passionate volunteers. The landscape changes frequently and unfortunately, just as new venues and nights pop up regularly, we must say farewell to others.

We use this opportunity to celebrate the brilliant and vital contributions made by two promoters of live jazz that have sadly wound up; Fusebox in Leeds and JazzintoDoncaster. Congratulations and heartfelt thanks to the teams of people who ran these ventures.

Message from Fusebox -

I'm afraid that Fusebox isn't active anymore. After a meeting last October and a fruitful discussion with the Arts Council, we decided to take a pause, while we wrote a bid and  restyled ourselves.

The plan was to start up again with a new format in September but as time passed and with the busy and complex lives of the musician members, nothing developed and so the general consensus was that Fusebox has run it's course. Sad to see.

Bill Chatwin

Message from JazzintoDoncaster -

Sorry to report that JazzintoDoncaster has now ceased due the fall in people attending with the demography of our supporters. We have been subsidising the Bands over the last 12-18 months and our funds have now been depleted.

We may have one final performance featuring the Doncaster Youth Jazz Orchestra at a future date to be arranged.

Thank you for your support, especially Charlie Worsdale, Peter Robinson, Malcolm Silverwood and all previous Committee Members the founders of JazzintoDoncaster

Brian Askew

Jazz Promoter Fellowship Announced by Help Musicians UK

Help Musicians UK have announced their new Jazz Promoters Fellowship in partnership with award-winning composer Issie Barratt.

From the Help Musicians UK website...

This fully-funded HMUK Fellowship has been developed out of the need to create a gender balance within the jazz scene in the UK and provide a framework for best practice in training for promoters. The move has been supported by industry leaders across the sector.

Recent evidence—from Issie’s extensive four-year research project—shows that women are hugely underrepresented in jazz, often excluded from performance opportunities, rarely booked as often as their male counterparts, and infrequently considered in development initiatives.

The Fellowship will aim to change perceptions and create a new, inclusive jazz landscape. It will focus on equipping the next generation of male and female promoters for a career in the industry by working closely with many of the UK’s best jazz promoters, venues and festival directors.

By the end of this Fellowship's pilot year (July 2018), participants will have had invaluable opportunities in order to deliver a year-long personal project aimed at addressing the equality gap.

Key opportunities of the programme include:
• Seven seminar days hosted at key points in the jazz calendar
• Development of a promoter’s job description and toolkit
• Monthly tutorials
• Mentoring from leading experts and peers
• Participation in roundtable discussions
• Devising and delivering a year-long self-initiated project

Applications are being accepted until July 7th 2017 and successful applicants will be notified in late July.

For more information and to apply, visit the Help Musicians UK website.

Jazz North Announces Newest Haul of Northern Line Bands

Jazz North today announced the newest 12 groups selected to take part in their flagship project, Northern Line.

Groups that take part in the scheme are available at a subsidised rate to promoters between September 1st 2015 and December 31st 2016, allowing promoters to take on groups with a reduced financial risk.

The groups selected are:

Graeme Wilson Quartet
Tipping Point
John Bailey Quintet
Grew Quartet
Bugalu Foundation
The Lindsay Hannon Plus
Matt Holborn Quartet
Cameron Vale
Blind Monk Trio
Manjula
Pan Jumby
Iain Dixon/Les Chisnall Duo

Find out more about Jazz North on their website.