Southend to open a new jazz museum

Southend-On-Sea is to be home for a new jazz museum when it opens in Spring 2016 at the town's Beecroft Arts Centre.

The intention is to celebrate the town’s rich jazz heritage, as well as being a treasure trove of jazz memorabilia, from the 1920s to the present day. Included will be the Humphrey Lyttelton Archives and the “Louis Armstrong Special” trumpet which was designed and played by the late musician himself.

An extension of the National Jazz Archive, it will also play host to performances, talks, and exhibitions and be a comprehensive research facility, with a wide range of books, periodicals, unpublished materials and records.