British Jazz - 1980s To The Present

1980s To The Present

The 1980s saw a continuing development of distinctive styles. There was a new generation of Black British musicians who helped to re energise the UK jazz scene with Courtney Pine, Gary Crosby, Julian Joseph,Cleveland Watkiss, Steve Williamson, Orphy Robinson, and later Denys Baptiste, Soweto Kinch and Jason Yarde, being noteworthy examples (many of these musicians have recorded albums on Historical labels such as Verve,Blue Note and are musicians who are highly regarded on the International scene,They were also members of the ground breaking Black British big band Jazz Warriors). Loose Tubes was also very important group in re-energising the British scene. Many musicians from this band such as Django Bates, Iain Ballamy and Julian Argüelles have also become important artists with highly developed individual musical voices.

The expansion of jazz was also marked by the launch of Jazz FM in 1990 and the opening of the Jazz Cafe, Camden. Both of these gradually ceased to concern themselves primarily with jazz and the radio station was renamed Smooth FM in 2005. A new national digital jazz radio station The Jazz began operations at Christmas 2006, dedicated to broadcasting jazz in most styles, but was closed by its parent company in February 2008. However, new venues continue to open.

In recent years funk and hip hop have become an influence on parts of Britain's jazz scene. At the same time, Black British traditions in jazz have been strengthened, in part, by the 'rediscovery' and celebration in the 2000s of Jamaican altoist Joe Harriott's once-neglected music and by the publication of books about him and his close collaborator, bassist Coleridge Goode. The effect has been to make Harriott, posthumously, a powerful symbol of Black British jazz achievement and identity.

There are more opportunities now for students to specialise in jazz whether at basic learner level or at major conservatoires around the country, such as the Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music, Trinity College of Music and Middlesex University in London, Birmingham Conservatoire and Leeds College of Music.