International Jazz Star to help promote the cultural diversity of jazz
The Jazz Centre (UK), the UK’s only cultural centre for jazz music, is pleased to announce that Jamie Cullum, the award-winning international jazz singer-songwriter and radio presenter, has joined the charity as a patron.
The Jazz Centre (UK) is a volunteer-led national charity that works preserves, promotes and celebrates jazz in all its forms.
Cullum is the best-selling British jazz artist of all time, has released eight internationally acclaimed studio albums and is currently the presenter of BBC Radio 2’s The Jazz Show.
On his appointment, Cullum said:
“The Jazz Centre (UK)’s commitment to preserve, promote and celebrate jazz music in all its forms really hits home with my own passion for a music that truly represents diversity and equalities across the genre. The Jazz Centre (UK)’s energies and vision to promote both jazz’s incredible heritage and its ongoing, contemporary evolution means I am delighted to be joining the charity as a patron. The work the team of trustees and volunteers do is absolutely crucial in telling how the jazz story crosses cultures and communities and it provides a phenomenal research, education and showcase hub that young people can use outside of the classroom and throughout their lives. I look forward to supporting the great work that The Jazz Centre (UK) is doing across the UK in my new role as patron.”
Mark Kass, CEO & Trustee of The Jazz Centre (UK) added:
“We are thrilled and honoured that Jamie has joined the charity as our newest patron. His passion for all aspects of jazz and broadening audiences and changing perceptions for this incredible music certainly matches our own, so this is a very exciting development for The Jazz Centre (UK).”
Kass continues, “Jamie joins our incredible stable of high-profile jazz patrons including Dame Cleo Laine, Charlie Watts, Jules Holland, Paul Jones, Simon Spillett, Alan Barnes, Sir Van Morrison and of course Sir Michael Parkinson on who’s chat show it was back in 2003 when we saw Jamie on our TV screens for the very first time!”
Based in The Beecroft Arts & Cultural Centre, Southend-on-Sea in Essex, Cullum’s original county of birth, The Jazz Centre (UK) partners with local, regional and national organisations through its jazz museum, multi-media research & education hub and its recently re-vamped performance venue now equipped with professional standard live streaming equipment.
The charity aims to become the “go-to” resource for jazz music, dance, fashion, art and literature across the UK and with Jamie Cullum joining its honorary roll of patrons to encourage as wide an audience as possible to explore, understand, enjoy and share in this great music.
See the full list of The Jazz Centre UK's Patrons and Supporters here: https://www.thejazzcentreuk.co.uk/patrons-and-supporters