Jazz FM presents The Definitive History of Jazz In Britain series hosted by Clive Myrie
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
UK jazz station to cover a century of jazz in Great Britain across ten weeks
A major new jazz documentary series, The Definitive History of Jazz In Britain, starts on 4 April, Easter Sunday, on Jazz FM with renowned broadcaster Clive Myrie hosting the show.
Starting in 1919 when the ‘Original Dixieland Jass Band’ visited London’s Hippodrome for the first official performance of jazz music in the UK, the series will explore how the genre developed in Britain and how it evolved over the decades, right up to the present day when the UK’s jazz scene is enjoying a new resurgence, interest and influence around the world.
Award winning BBC journalist and presenter Clive Myrie (pictured below) cites jazz music as “one of his passions in life”, and will explore each decade of the last 100 years with archive audio, reconstructions and expert insights from a who’s who of contributors to the series.
The programme, produced by MIM (Made In Manchester), has been created courtesy of another Audio Content Fund win for the UK’s only jazz, soul and blues station with previous winning ACF bids being Jazz FM’s Virtual Jazz Festival at the height of country’s first lockdown 12 months ago and the station’s first ever drama series Space Is The Place.
The wide range of contributors include independent researcher in African American music Howard Rye, musician Digby Fairweather, musical collector and historian Dr Rainer Lotz, Professor Catherine Tackley, jazz trumpeter Claude Deppa, drummer and percussionist Nick Ball, historian Dr James Nott, jazz writer Duncan Heining, jazz musician Adrian Cox, writer and historian Stephen Bourne, granddaughter of SSO vocalist Frank Bates, Juliet Jones, professor of radio and popular music studies at Birmingham City University Tim Wall, Popular Music Studies Lecturer Mike Brocken, The Cavern Club’s John Higham, Jazzwise writer/broadcaste Kevin Le Gendre, author of An Unholy Row Dave Gelly and jazz writer and photographer (and Jazzwise contributor) Val Wilmer.
Of the series, host Clive Myrie said: “Being a part of this amazing project is a dream come true. Jazz is an art form very close to my heart. The richness of this series is that not only is it an indispensable primer to British jazz in the last 100 years, but it puts the music in the social and political context of its time. It's a powerful, fascinating ride with some incredible contributors and of course great music.”
MIM MD and Exec Producer of the series Ashley Byrne says: “It's been great tracing the history of jazz in Britain. It is such a multi-faceted genre and its evolution is fascinating. Hearing from people who were there or are directly linked to those who helped create the UK's jazz story gives us a real sense of how jazz has adapted over the years. It continues to be the great survivor when it comes to music genres finding its way into other types of music all the time. Running parallel to the music story is also the story of black people in Britain and how they faced many challenges including blatant racism over the decades. The story of jazz in Britain reflects the story of the changing face of society and culture over the past 100 years.”
The Definitive History to Jazz in Britain, with Clive Myrie starts on Sunday 4 April and runs until Sunday 6 June between 9-10pm on www.jazzfm.com
Episode 1 – The 1920s: Beginnings…
Episode 2 - The 1930s: Superstars take the UK by storm… (features George Eggay as ‘Louis Armstrong’)
Episode 3 - The 1940s: Surviving and thriving…
Episode 4 - The 1950s: Heyday and heading in different directions…
Episode 5 - The 1960s: a new era…
Episode 6 - The 1970s: An international stage…
Episode 7 - The 1980s: Revolution and re-invigoration…
Episode 8 - The 1990s: Struggling but striving…
Episode 9 - The 2000s: A New Century a fresh outlook…
Episode 10 - The 2010s: The future…