March News 2025

Contents

AGM and Trustee election

Monday April 28 10 am- 1 pm ON ZOOM

We hope to see as many JPN members as possible at the forthcoming AGM held on Zoom where we will not only be electing new Trustees but also talking about developments with the conference, the research project with BCU (see below) and other things on the horizon!  Please can you complete this form to let us know if you are coming. Link HERE. (N.B. The AGM is open to JPN members only).  

The papers for the conference (including details of the candidates for the Board) and the Zoom link will be sent to members on April 14. Only members attending the on-line AGM will be able to vote in the election; each member (whatever the size of the organisation) only has one vote so large organisations should decide who their voting member will be. The vote will take place electronically during the meeting.

Standing for the JPN Board – there’s still time! The deadline for submissions to stand for the JPN Board is next Monday (March 31). More details are in the document HERE, and prospective candidates will need to do the following:

  • Be paid up JPN members (including those joining now) – or if not currently
    members of JPN they are required to join if elected to the Board. To join JPN go to the JPN website at https://jazzpromotionnetwork.org.uk/join/.
  • Provide a statement by March 31 of no longer than 250 words plus a headshot, describing what you feel you could bring to the JPN Board bearing in mind the information/ requirements above. This statement should also name a JPN member who has seconded the nomination (link to current list of JPN Members HERE– contact details available from Ros Rigby if needed.) That person should supply a few lines to be added to the candidate’s statement. This should be sent to ros@jazzpromotionnetwork.org.uk. We suggest an informal chat first with Ros if you are interested; contact her via the email address above. top

making music logo

New Members

We are delighted to welcome Making Music to the network as organisational members. They were our main sponsor for the 2023 Conference and many of you will remember seeing their CEO Barbara Eifler out and about at the event. They are also a membership organisation working across the UK and provide resources and support across a wide range of financial, artistic and administrative areas to individual music makers and leisure-time music groups. Their nearly 4000 members do include several hundred who promote jazz and we anticipate lots of areas of potential collaboration and sharing of knowledge and resources.

We are also very pleased to welcome Barry Holloway to JPN, both as part time Marketing Manager for Making Music but also as an individual musician, band leader and singer. top

BCU/JPN Research Project

A message from researcher Lee Griffiths 

Following the announcement of our joint research project with Birmingham City University, examining the network’s scope and impact, as well as the challenges and opportunities it faces, researcher Lee Griffiths would like to introduce himself and outline some of the ways he hopes to work with  JPN Members on this project.

My name is Dr Lee Griffiths, and I’m a saxophonist, promoter of improvised music, and researcher. I will be leading this project under the supervision of Professor Nicholas Gebhardt, whom many of you will know as a long-time member of the JPN. Supported by funding from Birmingham City University, we will work together to conduct a substantial review of the network and its membership.

As a member of the network myself,  and having had the pleasure of speaking with many JPN members over the past few years, I already have some understanding of the network and how it fits within the wider sector. However, it is essential that this project draws on your knowledge, perspectives, and expertise as deeply and thoroughly as possible. For that reason, I will be reaching out to members of the network to arrange one-to-one interviews and invite responses to a short questionnaire. I would also like to extend an open invitation for members to share their ideas and opinions with me or register their interest in being interviewed. I will be in touch soon with details on how to respond to this invitation.

In many ways, this is a challenging time for the arts sector across the UK and Ireland. However, it also feels like an exciting moment to reflect on the positive role that jazz music plays in the cultural life of the five nations and how the JPN can bring people together in support of great music. I’m very much looking forward to speaking with many of you over the course of the project, so please keep an eye out for updates and opportunities to contribute in the coming months. top

English stand at jazzahead, Bremen 24-26 April

As some of you will have read in UK Jazz News , there will be an English stand at this year’s jazzahead! in Bremen supported by Arts Council England along with an English showcase club night produced by Peter Conway ( a longstanding JPN member). This will provide an enhanced “shop window” for jazz from England and a point of contact for delegates from across the UK and beyond.

A programme of speed networking sessions on festivals, touring and label contacts; several ‘meet the showcase artists’ sessions; discussions panels and presentations; and an informal daily networking reception will be hosted by Arts Council England and its partners.

The Arts Council’s new investment in this will also provide delegate bursaries and support, and a programme of showcase and platforming events.

The English showcase club night event curated by Peter Conway (presented at the Bremer Shakespeare Theatre) will feature three leading English jazz acts: Mark Kavuma, Jo Harrop and Rebecca Nash. English jazz artist Henry Spencer will also present a showcase as part of the official jazzahead! showcase programme.

Producing partner British Underground – bringing their experience of managing music, tech and arts programmes on the international stage – will coordinate a small group of delegate bursaries for artists and managers new to jazzahead!

JPN is pleased to be a partner in the English stand. As before there will also be a Scottish stand which always also provides a warm welcome!

As a further benefit to English delegates, there is a discounted co-exhibitor rate of €155 (plus 19% VAT) for delegates registering through the England stand (6A20). Delegates should use the discount code 25GEMTR1 via the co-exhibitor registration form.

We look forward to seeing other members and friends in Bremen next month! top

JPN Conference – Cardiff

Thursday Nov 6 and Friday Nov 7 2025

Things are moving ahead well with plans for the conference working with our co-hosts (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and Cardiff University) and with the growing list of musicians, promoters and educators in Wales we met through the Round Table we ran in Cardiff last year. We hope to open registration in July with an Early Bird offer, at which point we will also be seeking nominations from JPN members or showcase performers from across the UK/Ireland , and applications for bursaries. top

AND IN OTHER NEWS….

Arts Council England Review

As reported in the last mailing, a Review of Arts Council England is now underway and submissions are invited, with a deadline of April 24. Details are here and the online survey is here.

Chris Hodgkins  (who provides administrative support  for the APPJAG- All Party Parliamentary Jazz Group) has recently offered some useful practical advice in filling in this in, as follows:

For those of you who complete the survey online you need to be aware of the following: You cannot save and come back to the survey. You either need hours with an open window (and the risk of it crashing and losing all your responses), or you need a template in which you can plan the response and then cut and paste that into the survey form. My grateful thanks to Paul Kelly, chair of Swanage Jazz Festival for this and for providing a template that will save you losing your submission.The template can be found here.

As stated in the last JPN mailout, we would be interested to know how many of our England-based members are planning to fill in the survey, and the general tenor of the responses, so we can try to reflect some of these in our own response. top

APPJAG publishes Review of Jazz in England

APPJAG has also just published this document:  ‘Review of Jazz in England: an Honest Portrait and an Actionable Roadmap – A Green Paper; a review of jazz in England that sets out the way ahead for the music to flourish nationally over the next ten years.’ Compiled by musician, radio presenter and former arts administrator Chris Hodgkins and musician and journalist Howard Lawes, it is available at Review of Jazz in England March 2025. top

Jazz FM Awards

The nominees for the 2025 Jazz FM Awards were announced earlier this month and voting is open for some of the categories at https://www.jazzfmawards.com/vote-2025/. The event announcing the winners will take place at Koko in London on April 24. top