ABOUT

The King’s College Jazz Society is one of the university’s leading student societies. The society’s centre-piece is the big band, a 20-person ensemble.  It contributes hugely to London’s thriving jazz scene.

 

The society is inclusive and encourages students, jazz lovers, and musicians/performers of any standard and musical background to join and engage with the society, big band and its small bands/ensembles.  Membership to the society is free.  There is a small one-off fee for members of the big band   

 

King’s College Jazz Society and King’s Big Band celebrate jazz, an Afro-American musical form forged in the late 19th century/early 20th century.  The canon of great jazz artists in the 20th century includes:  Billie Holliday, Bessie Smith, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Nina Simone et al.

 

The King’s Big Band’s repertoire includes jazz charts from the swing era – the music of Count Basie, Duke Ellington - and extends to jazz styles, including, Bebop, Cool Jazz, Funk, Pop and Rap, and is committed to extending its repertoire further.

 

King’s College Jazz Society and King’s Big Band support the Black Lives Matter movement and the fight to tackle racial inequality and injustice.  

 

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