Brecon Jazz launches (Kind of) Blue Plaque scheme to memorialise Britain?s unsung Jazz venues

Friday, July 24, 2009

Can you help identify one jazz venue in Britain that has been the crucible of a number of seminal live performances during the past century; played host to some of the greatest legends?

Brecon Jazz launches (Kind of) Blue Plaque scheme to memorialise Britain’s unsung Jazz venues

Can you or your readers help identify one jazz venue in Britain that has been the crucible of a number of seminal live performances during the past century; played host to some of the greatest legends of jazz; and ultimately proved pivotal to the development of Jazz in this country?

To mark the 50th anniversary of the release of Miles Davis’ seminal Kind of Blue album in 1959, Brecon Jazz is launching a scheme to identify one such venue each year ? by public nomination then public vote ? and then decorate the venue or its former location with a memorial (Kind of) Blue Plaque.

?The environment that allows improvisations to take place is almost as important as the players themselves,? says Peter Florence, director the Hay Festival and the Brecon Jazz Festival. ?But the venues remain only in people’s memories, unlike recorded music. We want to tap into the memories of people who remembered the great days of the 1950s ? and the record of what went before ? to find the location for Brecon’s debut (Kind of) Blue Plaque!?

How the Kind of Blue project will work:

Whether a venue is still functioning as such; or has long since closed; or is no longer even standing, Jazz lovers and amateur historians around the UK are asked to dig into their knowledge and their memories to make their suggestion.

- The name of the venue at the time of its historical heyday and the current name if it is still functioning as a music venue

- The location of the venue, including town and nearest postcode

- Details of who played there and when, including any reviews, historical references, or images

- If the venue was working in your living memory, any recollections of evenings spent there that make you believe it should receive the Brecon (Kind of) Blue Plaque for 2009.

A shortlist will then be announced, with the final venue to be chosen by online poll and announced just before the Festival begins on August 7th. The person who nominated the winning venue will be invited to speak to the press about why they championed it, and join Brecon Jazz at the unveiling the plaque just before the opening of Brecon Jazz 2010.

Full details, including how to submit, can be found at http://www.breconjazz.org/kindofblue

About Brecon Jazz Festival:

International Jazz stars from around the world will be appearing at the 2009 Brecon Jazz Festival in Wales on Friday 7th ? Sunday 9th August. Held in locations across the town of Brecon, the festival will feature South African piano legend Adbullah Ibrahim, Cameroonian saxophonist Manu Dibango and the Tunisian oud master Anouar Brahem. UK Jazz’s biggest star, Courtney Pine, will also return to perform his new Sidney Bechet-inspired album, Tradition in Transition. The festival will run in five fantastic venues across the town ? Theatr Brycheiniog, the Big Tent on Captain’s Walk, the newly-accessed Market Hall, the Castle Hotel and Brecon Cathedral ? and tickets will range in price from £5 to £15.

Brecon Jazz ? 7th, 8th, 9th August 2009

Follow Brecon Jazz at: http://www.twitter.com/breconjazz and see full programme at http://www.breconjazz.org

Tickets cost between £5 and £15 and are available from http://www.breconjazz.org and on 0870 990 1299

Brecon Jazz is produced by Hay Festival and funded by The Arts Council of Wales

For further information about Brecon Jazz

please contact Toby Guise or Ruby Soave at Deliberate PR

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020 8732 8861 / 020 8732 8867

07814 223 530 / 07590 403 826