JAM SESSIONS & WORKSHOPS

Jam Sessions at The Jazz Centre UK

MUSIC EDUCATION

Using our National Lottery Heritage Fund grant, between 2019 - 2021, we have supported hundreds of students across Essex with their music, dance and arts education.

We have worked with local educators, schools and South Essex College to host online and in-school workshops covering jazz musical performance, musical theory/technique and jazz dance.

We also supported the development of graphic design and textile students at South Essex College by providing resources, project briefs and gallery space for their coursework. You can see the outstanding work produced by the students within our in-centre exhibition or back on The 100 Club project homepage.

JAZZ DANCE PROJECT

JAZZ FASHION PROJECT

JAM SESSIONS

The Hundred Club originally opened in 1942 as London's official home for such sessions - informal gatherings where musicians got together to enjoy themselves, swap musical ideas and develop their craft. Back then legendary Americans (including bandleader Glenn Miller) came to the club to play with - amongst others - the phenomenal eight-year-old Victor Feldman, whose drumming had earned him the title 'Kid Krupa' (after America's premier star drummer Gene Krupa) and who narrowly failed to be exported back to America by Miller to star with his band! Our own seven jam sessions followed the same pattern; premier musicians, organised by saxophonist Pete Long jammed with newcomers and veterans alike - the youngest of them a twelve-year-old guitarist Jasper Bew, and the oldest another guitarist the eighty-nine-year-old Ernie Cranenburgh! In between, we invited everybody from senior pupils at music schools to graduates from Britain's National Youth Jazz Orchestra and many more.

All sessions are available to watch on this page or on our Youtube Channel. We hope you enjoy the fantastic work from all involved.

ONLINE WORKSHOPS

Between May and June 2020 we presented a series of free online Jazz Masterclasses funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were unable to host the set of workshops at our Centre and instead hosted the workshops sessions on Zoom. This made the workshops more accessible and gave musicians needed support through the lockdown period.

Each session lasted 1.5 hours and hosted on Zoom and was open to musicians of all levels. Tutors included Alan Barnes, Mick Foster, Steve Waterman, John Seeley, Geoff Gascoyne and Bob Mintzer. Tutors were organised and the zoom sessions were hosted by Essex Easter Jazz.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL WORKSHOPS

When COVID-19 restrictions lifted slightly and children were allowed back to school at the end of 2020, we funded Rhythm Connections to run workshops for primary and secondary school students. The sessions were led by jazz drummer and educator Marc Cecil across 5 schools.

The example video shows a sample from the session held at Thundersley Primary School. Marc conducted 8 back to back 45 min sessions with 8 separate classes and covered a variety of rhythm techniques using an impressive collection of djembe drums.

This was a fantastic opportunity for us to help fund music education using our National Lottery Heritage grant. Not only is understanding rhythm an essential part of musical development, but these workshops also help inspire students to pick up an instrument and take part in extracurricular activities.

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