Jazz Services - A voice for jazz

JAZZ SERVICES - AN INTRODUCTION

Working Hard For Jazz!

Jazz Services is the UK's charitable support organisation for jazz music, promoting its growth and development and offering services on touring, recording, information, international support, education and communications, publishing and promotion.

Jazz Services focuses on these crucial areas to promote a healthy jazz scene.  We’re ‘a voice for jazz’ in the UK, a voice that brings audiences, musicians, promoters and producers together.  It's a voice that has the ear of MPs, funding bodies and anyone and everyone who can contribute and help towards the progress and development of all styles of jazz, a voice that supports the music and musicians throughout the country in many positive ways.

Here’s what we do...

1. National touring and promoter support

Jazz Services provides funding for both up-and-coming and established bands wishing to put on tours around the UK (as well as abroad - see International Section), and for promoters wanting to put on more jazz gigs in their area.

- Visit our National Touring Support Scheme page to find out more and apply for touring support

Anne Rigg explains Jazz Services' different Touring schemes:

2. Recording

We can provide constructive help in producing CDs and recordings and financial help when more funds become available. 5 CDs have been released to date through the Jazz Services Recording Support Scheme.

- Visit our Recording Support Scheme page to find out more

3. Information

Jazz Services offers an extensive directory of contacts covering the UK and international jazz scene, as well as comprehensive listings of gigs up and down the country.  Our Online Music Business Resource gives advice and information on promotion, marketing, recording, law, finance, copyright and other related activities.

- Visit our Directory page to search or browse contacts in the UK

- Visit our Listings page to browse or search for live jazz in your area

- Visit our Jazz Business page to view the Online Music Business Resource

4. International support

As well as working at home, we promote UK jazz internationally to highlight the quality and diversity of British artists. We offer bands the opportunity to perform at international showcases, and to date have supported over 240 musicians in more than 60 different bands in showcases and concerts around the world.

- Visit our International section to learn more about our work overseas and how you can be a part of it.

5. Education

We work with various organisations to develop policies and projects that raise the profile of jazz in education, and together with Access to Music and Yamaha we provide a limited number of bursaries for training. Jazz Services works closely with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and they receive their Arts Council funding via Jazz Services.  As part of our directory, visitors to this site can search for music courses, tutors and institutions to expand their own knowledge of jazz.

- Visit our Education section to read more on Jazz Services' educational work and activities.

6. Communications and Publishing

Jazz Services publishes the bi-monthly magazine JazzUK, with 30,000 copies distributed free nationwide with features, interviews, reviews, news and gig listings.  The magazine is available to download on our website.  We also publish reports and research on relevant areas and newsletters outlining our various recent activities and plans.

- Visit our JazzUK page to download archive issues and find out more.

- Visit our Reports and Press Releases pages to read about recent Jazz Services activities.

7. Awards

Each year Jazz Services works with the Phonographic Performance Ltd and the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group to produce and present the Parliamentary Jazz Awards.  With the National Music Council, Jazz Services presents the Will Michael Awards for excellence in jazz education by Local Education Authorities.

...and we want to work even harder:

1. Raise more funding

We’ve a lot of exciting plans and initiatives in place but these are dependent on finance and that means we have to attract more funding from public and private sources. We plan to do this through a series of advertising campaigns to promote Gift Aid as well as direct approaches to trusts, organisations, companies and individuals.

2. Develop the news content on the Jazz Site

 We intend to provide every issue of Jazz UK from 1 to 100 as free pdf downloads through the Jazz Site. We are also committed to providing more news and updates through the site and through a bi-monthly email newsletter. We hope this will help us engage more with the jazz community.

3. Touring Support

 With the National Rural Touring Forum we aim to develop a Rural Touring Support Scheme with the first tours starting in 2012. We are going to develop support to help the core of jazz promotion in the UK – the voluntary jazz promoters.

4. Develop our existing on-line resources

 Provide a more comprehensive advice and information service to musicians, promoters and the public on subjects ranging from touring to archives. We will also enhance the Online Music Business Resource that helps musicians develop their careers and promoters build bigger audiences. We are also launching a new British Jazz History section of the website, which we hope will provide a valuable free resource for fans of UK jazz.

5. Expand the online photo library

 We intend to commission new photographs and build an in-house photo store with JazzUK that will be freely available to the media and to promoters.

6. Develop a radio portal and podcasts

 These initiatives will offer new media broadcast opportunities for UK jazz musicians and promote UK jazz to international audiences.

7. Produce more publications to help musicians and promoters

 We have already launched several new online publications and many more are being planned for the Online Music Business Resource plus we are looking at ways of developing and enhancing Jazz UK.

8. Equal Opportunities

 We are committed to taking positive steps to prevent discrimination and promoting equal opportunities irrespective of disability, race, sex, age, sexual orientation, marital status, or religious belief.

To help us help jazz, why not make a donation - in return we'll send you six copies of JazzUK magazine free!

Find out more.