Sheffield Jazz Secures Charitable Status:

Having now achieved charitable status, Sheffield Jazz moves into a new phase of its development as it commences its Spring 2010 season at the Millennium Hall in Ecclesall Road. Charitable status means that we now have a much better platform for developing our work through readier access to finance from individuals, companies and public bodies.

Dave Silver, newly-elected Chair of Sheffield Jazz said:

“Sheffield Jazz is already recognised as one of the UK’s leading regional promoters of jazz, regularly bringing national and international artists to Sheffield with financial help from Jazz Yorkshire and the Performing Rights Society. Charitable status (Registered Charity Number 1130936) now gives us the opportunity to raise additional funding and thereby to organise more and better gigs; to work more with Sheffield Jazz Workshops to encourage and assist people to play jazz; and to broaden the audience for jazz by reaching new sections of the population.”

Sheffield Jazz (and its predecessor, Hurlfield Jazz) has been operating for over 30 years. Until 2008, when it became a company limited by guarantee, it was a purely informal voluntary organisation.  We still rely on a small army of volunteers but we now have the additional stability and security which company status provides.

Sheffield Jazz provides opportunities for people from all backgrounds in Sheffield and the surrounding region to hear some of the best and the newest jazz.  To achieve our aims we put on up to 30 concerts a year, usually at the Millennium Hall on Ecclesall Road and (when it reopens) at the Crucible Studio. This enables the people of Sheffield and the surrounding area to hear, live in the City, the best jazz available, and to learn about a wide variety of regional, national and international musicians. These include not only some of the best known names in jazz, but also many up-and-coming musicians, providing them with the opportunity to become better known and thereby to advance their careers.

We also collaborate actively with Sheffield Jazz Workshops in their regular sessions (mainly on Saturday mornings). These attract people from across Sheffield and other parts of Yorkshire - and from as far away as Lincoln! - providing an opportunity for amateur musicians, music students, and up-and-coming professionals to learn and to improve their playing.

Our beneficiaries are anyone who has an interest in music, and to ensure that all can benefit regardless of income:

• we offer season tickets and concessionary rates for tickets and for attendance at workshops;

• we publicise our concerts and workshops in the local newspapers and other places readily accessed by all members of the public, such as libraries, museums and shops;

• we make some of our activities, such as informal playing sessions, free to all;

• we provide volunteering opportunities for people other than the Trustees to assist with the running and administration of our concerts; and

• we allow any member of the public to become a Friend of Sheffield Jazz.

If you would like to get involved with Sheffield Jazz, please e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it