ARTS Council England (ACE) recently announced funding plans for 2015-2018 and has not granted any funding for Jazz Services, which previously received £340,000 per annum.

Naturally, the organisation has launched an appeal and more than 6,000 signatures have been collected by musician Emily Saunders. The petition can be found at the lengthy:
jazzservices.org.uk/index.php/support-jazz-services

ACE has responded to the cries of alarm and outrage with the information that funds for many national portfolio organisations (NPOs) that support jazz will either remain stable or be newly awarded. We are fortunate that Jazz North is one of the successful NPOs and will receive three years funding. The Manchester Jazz Festival will receive £90,000, the National Youth Jazz Collective £124,000 and the National Youth Jazz Orchestra will be funded directly with £125,000.

Hull’s J-Night will receive more, becoming the UK City of Culture no doubt helping, and York’s National Centre for Early Music (NCEM) has been successful. So, continuing support for jazz will be welcome, but only time will tell whether the overall picture will improve. Oh, and just in passing, Opera North got £10 million.

Back in York, the funding story is slimmer, but quite a few pubs and restaurants provide a modicum of funding for live music. Kennedy’s Café Bar, Little Stonegate, has been supporting live music for many years and Sunday sessions with John Marley and Paul Smith continue at 1pm each week (01904 620222). Jazz at the Phoenix Inn, George Street, continues as a mixed economy, part-funded by the pub and part-funded by a small door charge, raffle, etc. Sunday night’s treat is with Ian Chalk’s Firebird Quartet at 8pm and the band has a new EP for you to sample at firebirdquartet.bandcamp.com The music includes two by Terence Blanchard, Phryzzinian by Wynton Marsalis and a Cuban-style treatment of Nature Boy.

On Monday, the Kate Peters Quartet will be at the Phoenix, and on Wednesday there is a quartet in place which welcomes budding musicians and singers to try their skills in front of an audience in a weekly jam session. Details: 01904 656401.

Jazz in the Spa is a stronghold of traditional jazz and on Saturday young reeds player Gavin Lee’s New Orleans Jazz Band will make its first appearance there (01937 844898). Scarborough Jazz at the Cask Inn, Cambridge Terrace, operates every Wednesday and next week’s guest will be rising star saxophonist Tom Harrison (01723 500570). Based in South London, Harrison has played across Europe with Joe Lovano, Jean Toussaint, Heather Small and M-People and many more.

The Scarborough Jazz Festival (September 26-28) has a Nigel Kennedy/John Etheridge collaboration as one of its highlights, with Clark Tracey, Anita Wardell, Henry Lowther, Gwilym Simcock and many more. For an ideal weekend away at the seaside, phone 01723 821888 or visit scarboroughjazzfestival.co.uk Hull’s Freedom Festival is usually a very varied and entertaining weekend (September 5-7) and has a packed series of events based around the pier and Fruitmarket.