Celebrating 50 Years

Aim

In September 2026 Birmingham Jazz celebrates its golden anniversary and we want to put on a special run of gigs and exhibit archive material

For fifty years since the first show by Barbara Thompson's Paraphernalia on 26th September 1976, Birmingham Jazz has promoted high quality jazz by outstanding artists from around the world.

We have used so many venues over those years: Grand Hotel, Strathallan Hotel, CBSO Centre, Midlands Arts Centre, Adrian Boult Hall and a whole range of club venues around the city, with 1000 Trades in the Jewellery Quarter becoming a stable home through its recent history.

In those venues the history of jazz since the mid 1970’s were promoted, with US, European and British stars including Michael Brecker, Jan Garbarek and John McLaughlin. All organised and managed by a band of enthusiastic volunteers, with an Artistic Director and Trustees.

Our core recent activities have involved successfully managing and funding weekly events with little public funding support. Highlights have been: the creation of UK premieres of work by musicians visiting and touring; new commissions for work; music student opportunities to play live, mentorships for emerging talent not available to them elsewhere, school gigs through the Music Service, new bands formed with Birmingham Jazz support, working across genres mixed with other art forms and opened new venues that extend the reach to new audiences in the city and beyond - plus a partnership with the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

So Birmingham Jazz has sustained a continuous programme of jazz across the city, bringing together international and national artists while creating opportunities for local musicians and students to write, perform and develop their work live.

Over many months Birmingham Jazz has sought external funding to support an extensive celebration of what is a monumental milestone for a regional British jazz organisation but unfortunately these applications have all been rejected. However, we do not want to let this golden anniversary pass without a fitting celebration.

This is where you come in. As a member of the jazz community we are asking you to consider supporting us with a donation to this crowdfunder to help us reach our target. This will help us to thank and celebrate the artists who have shaped those 50 memorable years while helping to build a sustainable organisation for the next 50.

We are an organisation of volunteers with minimal overheads so the more we raise the more money we can put into the pockets of jazz musicians who's careers rely on having places like ours to perform. Birmingham Jazz is a registered charity (1040567) and you can choose to Gift Aid your donation if you are able, to increase the value of your donation by 25% at no cost to you.

With your funding support we want to both celebrate and commemorate all those years and enterprise with the following four aims:

• a festival of music lead by musicians who first performed for Birmingham Jazz in one of the five decades; plus local bands helped onto the professional stage and those who received education and training.
• create and exhibit memorable items onto a set of mobile display panels showing the five decades.
• commission some merchandise for fans to keep: a pack of playing cards using artworks of jazz stars and a photographic collection in a brochure.
• to dedicate all of the 50th anniversary events to former Director/Trustee of Birmingham Jazz, graphic designer/jazz photographer and friend Brian Homer who sadly passed away in July 2026.

The money we raise through this crowdfunder will fund the gigs and the archive collection.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 30th September 2026 at 11:55pm