Arts Council England announces new £25,000 investment supporting English jazz

Arts Council England (ACE) has confirmed it will be funding two key events in support of England’s diverse jazz talent through support for Breakthrough Act of the Year award at the 2025 Jazz FM Awards as well as raising the visibility of England’s jazz artists on the world stage through enhanced presence at jazzahead!, the leading international jazz industry showcase and trade fair.

In a press release ACE said, “These initiatives recognise the achievements of individuals and groups within the vibrant UK jazz scene underpinned by Arts Council’s longstanding investment in leading English jazz organisations including Tomorrow’s Warriors, Jazz re:freshed, and the London and Manchester jazz festivals, all of which played a formative role in the success of Mercury and Brit Award winners, Ezra Collective, amongst others.

“Building on the work of organisations across the English jazz sector, Arts Council’s new investment acknowledges the success of UK Jazz on the international stage – at jazzahead!, and elsewhere globally including SXSW, SIM São Paolo and more, signalling its commitment to supporting emerging talent in English jazz sector. This newly expanded English presence will sit alongside that of other UK nations represented by artists, promoters and others from across the full spectrum of jazz music.”

Commenting on the announcement Dr Claire Mera-Nelson, Director, Music at Arts Council England said: “Arts Council England is delighted to support these two strategic investments for English jazz. Celebrating the achievements and visibility of outstanding jazz artists on the world stage, our partnerships with Jazz FM and jazzahead! will enable England’s extraordinary and diverse jazz talent to make the most of the opportunities that await them, supported by a fantastic coalition of UK partners.”

Sybille Kornitschky, CEO at jazzahead! said: “As a platform for global jazz connections, jazzahead! is delighted to strengthen ties with England and the UK at the 2025 Trade Fair and Festival. The work of our UK & Ireland Ambassador Nick Brown has played an instrumental role in bringing this together, and we look forward to seeing England elevate its international presence, ensuring English artists and industry professionals take their rightful place on the global stage.”

Ros Rigby, Chair of the Jazz Promotion Network said “The Jazz Promotion Network (JPN) is delighted that there will be an English stand at jazzahead! 2025 where jazz musicians, promoters and others can gather, and that this will also provide an opportunity for discussion about how we all can work together to develop a more extensive presence in future years.”

Crispin Parry, CEO of British Underground said "British Underground understands that international showcasing can be transformative for musicians so we are excited to collaborate in the development of this new initiative at jazzahead! supporting new talent from England and their industry networks."

Nick Pitts, Content Director for Jazz FM and Magic Classical said: "Jazz FM is delighted that Arts Council England is supporting the Breakthrough Act of the Year in this year’s Jazz FM Awards. Their dedication to nurturing emerging talent aligns perfectly with our mission to celebrate and elevate the UK’s jazz scene. This, alongside their support for English artists at jazzahead! in Bremen, underscores the vital role Arts Council England plays in championing jazz both nationally and internationally.”

This year’s Jazzahead! showcase and trade fair takes place in Bremen, Germany, 24-26 April 2025. The showcase programme was recently announced – see below as well as a UK Jazz club night on Friday 25 April.

With 38 concerts by artists from over 20 countries across three stages, the showcases have been programmed by international juries over the past few months, under the direction of Götz Bühler, jazzahead!’s Artistic Advisor. This year sees a strong focus on bands from the partner regions of Spain, France and Switzerland. In addition to Europe, there’s a strong focus on artists from Central and South America as well as Africa.

Names announced for the RECONNECT Showcases include: Adèle Viret Quartet (FR), Irene Reig quartet (ES), Louis Matute Large Ensemble (CH), Manon Mullener 5tet (CH), Marco Mezquida Trio (ES) and more.

The European Showcases include three UK artists including Scottish pair Norman&Corrie, the British-born Dutch-based saxophonist Sam Newbould and his Quintet and dynamic trumpeter Henry Spencer who perform alongside Andreas Polyzogopoulos Trio (GR), Carlos Bica 11:11 (PT), Harald Lassen (NO), Ilaria Capalbo (SE/IT), Korhan Futaci (TR), Maridalen (NO), and Schubert NOW! (HU.

The German Jazz Expo includes: Besson – Sternal – Burgwinkel Trio (DE), Carl Wittigs Aurora Oktett (DE), Enji (DE), Eva Klesse Quartett – Stimmen (DE), hilde (DE), Maik Krahl - The Magic of Consistency (DE), Nils Kugelmann Trio (DE) and Oumuamua Orchestra (DE).

And the Overseas & Jazz from Africa Showcases includes names such as Benjamin Jephta Sextet presents 'Born Coloured, not Born-Free' (ZA), Lucía (MX), Roger Corrêa Quartet (BR), Rolando Luna (CU) and Shalosh (IL) and more.

There will be an additional UK Jazz showcase night as part of the wider Jazz Club programme around Bremen. This takes place on the evening of Friday 25 April 2025 from 9pm to 1am at the 300-capacity (and aptly named) Shakespeare Theatre. Programmed by Mike Flynn (Jazzwise), Nick Brown (Jazzahead) and Peter Conway (Peter Conway Management) and coordinated by Peter Conway and Felix Pallentin (Shakespeare Company) the bill features three groups led by award-winning singer Jo Harrop, acclaimed pianist Rebecca Nash Trio and rising trumpet star Mark Kavuma, and will culminate with a jam session led by UK pianist Robin Phillips.

jazzahead! Co-Exhibitor registration 2025:

1. To register for the next jazzahead! , please click directly on co-exhibitor registration form.
2. If you do not have an account with jazzahead! you must register as a new user first. If you already have an account, you can login directly.
3. The stand number of the umbrella stand England is 6A20 and the contact is Laura Hadrych
4. The discount code 25GEMTR1 can be entered in the last step just before payment. The price should be reduced to 155 € + 19% VAT.
5. The terms of participation and cancellation for co-exhibitors can be found here.
6. After your registration as a co-exhibitor you can find the participants portal here.  

Please note that the online registration closes on April 07, 2025. Walk up registrations are charge with an additional fee of 20,00€ + 19% VAT. The activation of your registration including access to the participants portal might take up to 48 hours.

For more info visit jazzahead.de