The Age of Jazz: new exhibition will mark 100 years of British jazz

A major new London exhibition will celebrate 100 years since jazz music first arrived in the UK.

Rhythm and Reaction: The Age of Jazz in Britain will open its doors in London in January 2018 at Two Temple Place, a 19th century mansion on Victoria Embankment originally built for American tycoon William Waldorf Astor.

Curated by Catherine Tackley, Professor of Music at the University of Liverpool, the Age of Jazz exhibition will transport visitors to Jazz Age Britain through “painting, prints, cartoons, textiles and ceramics, moving film, instruments and the all-important jazz sound”.

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The first widely recognised commercial jazz record, Livery Stable Blues, was released in the US in 1917, but it wasn’t until the next year and the end of the First World War that the radical new style arrived on British shores.

Developed in partnership with the Bulldog Trust, which owns Two Temple Place, the show will be The Arts Society’s seventh annual Winter Exhibition.

Ahead of the opening of the exhibition, the Arts Society is joining forces with East London music bar Kansas Smitty’s for a day of performances, music workshops and talks exploring the musical roots of jazz.

Jazz Before Jazz Was Jazz will take place on Sunday 12 November at Two Temple Place, from 4pm until 11pm. Ticket are available online.

Musicians will regale attendees with the authentic sounds of the early 20th century, including ragtime, slave songs and marching band music, culminating in a performance from Kansas Smitty’s house band

"We're hugely excited to be partnering with Kansas Smitty's and Two Temple Place, for this one-off event which will highlight our exceptional speakers alongside the best young musicians in the country,” said Florian Schweizer, The Arts Society’s chief executive.

The Age of Jazz exhibition will run at Two Temple Place from 27 January until 22 April 2018.