At the annual JPN AGM on the 19th of November, we elected seven trustees to join the board.
The latest additions to the JPN team will join Orphy Robinson, Roger Wilson (Black Lives In Music), Penny King (Royal Welsh College of Music and Dance) and Barney Stevenson (Marsden Jazz Festival) on the board.
The new trustees are JPN co-founder Nod Knowles, former Head of Programming at Edinburgh International Jazz Festival Agnese Daverio, The Jazz Centre UK’s Mark Kass, Programme Manager at Jazz North Heather Spencer, marketing specialist and radio host Peter Slavid and musician, promoter and educator Keith Michael.
The current Vice-Chair of the JPN Board and former Performance Programme Director for Sage Gateshead, Ros Rigby has also been re-elected as a trustee.
Agnese Daverio
Italian-born and based in Edinburgh and Milan, Agnese Daverio has seven years of experience in jazz promotion across Scotland at local, national and international levels.
She joined Jazz Scotland and Edinburgh International Jazz & Blues Festival in 2014, producing more than 30 festivals, education and talent development programmes, European partnerships (Oslo & Torino Jazz Festivals, JazzLab, Aubergine Management), and strategic audience development. From 2017-18 she chaired Be United, celebrating African/Caribbean excellence in Scotland.
During the pandemic, Agnese worked closely with Scottish jazz artists and freelancers, commissioning new work and curating 80+ audio-visual productions and hybrid festivals. She left EJBF in 2021 for a freelance career across Scotland and Italy, managing Rebecca Vasmant (and her new label), running projects for I-Jazz and Novara Jazz Festival and providing consultancy for Scottish jazz musicians.
“I’ll bring to JPN my wealth of experience and connections, to help strengthen its profile and membership, especially in Scotland, and develop links across UK & Europe for the wider benefit of JPN and its members.
“It’s an important time for support networks to grow momentum, as we learn to reinvent our industry. I will bring a youthful energy and inclusivity to the table to help JPN stay relevant and forward-looking over this next critical period.”
Agnese Daverio
Mark Kass
Mark Kass is the CEO of TheJazzCentreUK, a completely volunteer-led jazz cultural centre & a registered charity owner of LondonEastJazzNetwork, an active not-for-profit jazz promotion agency focusing on developing the East London & Essex jazz community.
Mark is also the CEO of Enterprise4Good, a consultancy company that helps build and rebuild organisations across the public, private and voluntary sectors.
“Mine is always the “big picture” approach, ensuring both strategic and operational views of the needs of the organisations I work with, of the local markets we operate in and of the individuals and organisations we connect with, are considered.
“I’m passionate about bringing people together to develop the art, culture and business of jazz in all its forms. My vision is that the UK jazz community can & will become a wholly inclusive one; one that reflects the diversity of the music, the people it engages and the geographies it works in.”
Mark Kass
Nod Knowles
Nod Knowles is a voluntary promoter, presenting a gig series and the January Bath Jazz Weekend.
He began his involvement with jazz as a voluntary promoter in Cambridge and has since come full circle via a professional career as a fundraiser, tour organiser, consultant and adviser to UK arts councils and British Council.
Nod has also worked as the director/CEO of Bath International Festival of Music’s European Jazz Weekend, Head of Music at Scottish Arts Council, President of the board of Europe Jazz Network and, in 2013/14, a founding organiser of JPN of which I am still Company Secretary.
“I stepped down from the JPN board in 2016 to run its 4-year Going Dutch programme. Once again I want to commit my time and experience to build a strong, strategic future for our music and our network.
“I believe JPN is at an important turning point from which, with clear, determined leadership from the board, it can increase its impact, both in advocacy for the music and creating lasting national and international structures and collaborations for the mutual benefit of musicians, audiences and promoters.”
Nod Knowles
Keith Michael
Keith Michael is a musician, promoter, and educator, working for ten years in jazz in the southwest of England.
Moving forward from recent experiences, with the uncertainties of the pandemic, post-Brexit chaos, and the effects of streaming services on the music industry, Keith will bring his experience as a musician, producer and educator to make a meaningful contribution to the realisation of JPN’s strategic goals.
“I really enjoy starting new ventures, connecting people, places and ideas, and creating opportunities for experiencing and sharing jazz. [In Japan], there is more jazz interwoven in every layer of culture and society than anywhere else I have seen.
“I hope to bring this experience into the development of jazz in the UK, especially in and between more remote regions, as well as developing the connectivity between all regions.”
Keith Michael
Ros Rigby
Ros Rigby has a track record of over 30 years as a promoter of jazz and other music genres. She is the founder of the folk development agency Folkworks and worked as Performance Programme Director for Sage Gateshead where she launched the first-ever Gateshead International Jazz Festival, which ran for fourteen successful editions.
In addition to being a current trustee for JPN, Ros sat on the board for the Europe Jazz Network, where she was President for four years. Since stepping down from her role at Sage Gateshead, Ros has worked as an independent consultant and programmer and has become involved with several boards in the North of England and Scotland.
“My membership of the Board of Europe Jazz Network has given me extensive knowledge of the jazz scene across Europe, and my membership of the JPN Board for the past three years has brought me into closer contact with people active on the UK scene.
“I look forward to working with the rest of the Board in redefining JPN’s mission and will work to increase representation on the Board and membership from all four countries in the UK and Ireland.”
Ros Rigby
Peter Slavid
After 35 years as a Marketing Manager and Director in the IT world, Peter Slavid has since spent almost 20 years as a volunteer in the world of jazz and other genres. He was Chair of the F-IRE Collective through which he set up an artist-led record label. The collective ran several festivals, issued 100 albums, won multiple awards and achieved three Mercury Nominations.
For the last decade, Peter has broadcast a weekly radio show of European Modern Jazz which is aired across multiple FM and internet stations. He is also an occasional writer for London Jazz News and an experienced charity trustee for the likes of Cultural Co-operation (diversity and world music charity), the English Folk Dance & Song Society (EFDSS) and several other charities.
“I bring experience of charity governance, a background in marketing, a knowledge of other genres and a commitment to diversity and social justice all of which I believe can contribute to taking JPN forward.”
Peter Slavid
Heather Spencer
Heather Spencer is a jazz promoter, producer and project manager, currently working in artist development as Programme Manager at Jazz North.
Heather’s previous work has been rooted in jazz promotion, creative learning and festival producing as co-founder/director of DJAZZ: The Durham City Jazz Festival, Jazz Development Coordinator at Sage Gateshead and co-programmer of Sunday Jazz at Middlesbrough Town Hall.
Hailing from the North West and now based in Leeds, Heather is committed to living and working in the North of England. Having connected to a wide network of artists and promoters in the north, she is set to bring the views and experiences of northern artists and promoters to JPN.
“In 2017, the JPN conference played a key role in kicking off my career in jazz. Over my time on the board, I’d like to see JPN focus on removing barriers and driving increased representation in all areas of the sector. I’d like to see more people on the fringes of jazz connecting to JPN and their views represented in what it delivers.”
Heather Spencer
If you want to connect with any of our new trustees, please email joe@jazzpromotionnetwork.org.uk.