The Brecon Jazz Festival is a music festival held annually in Brecon, Wales. Normally staged in early August, it has played host to a range of jazz musicians from across the world.
Created in 1984 by local enthusiasts – musicians, promoters and fans – the early festival featured live jazz music on the streets and in the pubs and cafes of Brecon. It was a community event originally created by the town's residents, modelled on New Orleans-style jazz events. Jed Williams as president of the Welsh Jazz Society, and founding editor of the Cardiff-based magazine Jazz UK had many international connections and was involved since 1984, working with local organisers including Liz Elston and Tony Constantinescu.[1][2][3]George Melly, who had a house close by, and was a friend of Tony Constantinescu, performed the following year after the success of the first festival.[4] Since 2016 the festival has been directed and presented by the Brecon Jazz stakeholders coordination group, founded by members of the local jazz club. Assets and historic rights to the festival are held by Brecon Jazz Festival Ltd and Friends of Brecon Jazz on behalf of the town of Brecon.
As well as the main festival, a Brecon Fringe is organised as alternative free music in pubs, hotels, galleries and cafes in the town.[5]
Adamant Jazz Band on the opening evening of Brecon 2008
Jazz musicians at Brecon
Jazz musicians who have performed at the Brecon Jazz Festival.[6]
In 2009, in honour of the 50th anniversary of the release of the Miles Davis album Kind of Blue (1959), the festival invited jazz fans to submit nomination for an award, in the form of a Blue plaque to be awarded annually,[13] the first to be bestowed in 2010, honouring the venues that had made the most significant contribution to jazz in the United Kingdom. Twelve nominees were selected:
The Four Bars Inn (now Dempseys), Castle Street, Cardiff, 1987–present.
The Concorde Club received the most votes in the initial voting, followed by The Band on the Wall and Ronnie Scott's, and will receive the initial (Kind of) Blue Plaque.[15]
Ticket information
Programmes of music over the festival weekend have included:
Free music open to everyone, performed on the bandstand or pop-up locations in the centre of Brecon and on streets closed off to traffic for the festival weekend.[16][17][18]
The Stroller Programme, requiring the purchase of a "stroller ticket", with acts from the mainly British jazz scene performing in smaller indoor and larger outdoor venues.
The Concert Programme showcasing major acts with an international profile. Every concert requires an individual ticket.
Accommodation
Camping is popular at the festival, with two official campsites open to ticket holders and several independent campsites in the Brecon area. Hotels and bed and breakfasts are also available, but high demand usually means that early booking is required.
