Find out what jazz was before jazz was jazz

What was jazz before jazz was jazz? That’s the confusing question being posed by Kansas Smitty’s and The Arts Society in London next week – they’re organising a day of expert talks, interactive workshops and live performances to explore the very foundations of the music, tracing it back through American slave songs, African polyrhythms, and the European classical tradition.

The day's events will follow the cultural and musical streams that led to the inception of jazz in its epicenter, New Orleans. Speakers will set the scene for visitors, whilst musical performances will demonstrate a clever turn-of-the-century jukebox, playing opera, marching band music, slave songs and street cries.

The evening session will involve performances from members of the Kansas Smitty's House Band, hosted by University of Liverpool musicologist Catherine Tackley, who will add a commentary to the musical timeline.

This event precedes a major exhibition, ‘The Age of Jazz’, produced by The Arts Society and the Bulldog Trust, which opens at Two Temple Place in January 2018. The exhibition will kick off a year of celebrations for The Arts Society which marks its 50th anniversary next year.
 

More details and tickets HERE