One of the tests for all jazz musicians is the ability to get up on a stage with other musicians who don’t normally play together and perform as if they have been touring together for years. This was the challenge presented to six young musicians by the Worshipful Company of Musicians last night at their Jazz Medal Competition concert at London’s Pizza on the Park. With only 30 minutes to prepare a programme and talk through arrangements, the invited audience was treated to an exhilarating evening of spontaneous music making. 17.09.07

The Parliamentary Jazz Awards have been announced for 2008 and will take place at the House of Commons in late April or early May. The awards, now in their fourth year, are organised by the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group and sponsored by leading music industry copyright body Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL) in conjunction with Jazz Services and the Jazz Section of the Musicians Union. 20.01.08