THE AGE OF JAZZ IN BRITAIN

THE AGE OF JAZZ IN BRITAIN

5 Feb 2018

Opening on Saturday 27 January 2018 at Two Temple Place, the exhibition Rhythm & Reaction: The Age of Jazz in Britain marks 100 years of jazz in the UK, exploring the impact that jazz had on Britons from 1918.

Jazz provoked reactions ranging from devotion to abhorrence when the idea, and then the sound, of the music first entered the consciousness of the British public in the aftermath of the First World War. Visiting American groups such as the Original Dixieland Jazz Band and the Southern Syncopated Orchestra offered Britons their first chance to experience the music live.

Rhythm & Reaction: The Age of Jazz in Britain will highlight how the new jazz sound in post-War nightclubs and dancehalls provided exciting and dynamic material for British artists. Bold depictions of lively dancers by William Roberts and Frank Dobson, will be displayed alongside the Harlem-inspired paintings for which Edward Burra, one of Britain’s foremost Modernist painters, was well-known.

The growing interest in jazz brought black and white musicians, artists and audiences together, and was crucial in influencing changes in British society, moving from stereotypes descended from the minstrel show to a more nuanced understanding of and interest in African American and black British culture.

The exhibition brings together painting, prints, cartoons, textiles and ceramics, moving film, instruments and the all-important jazz sound, to explicitly examine the influence of jazz on British art, design and wider society.

Rhythm & Reaction: The Age of Jazz in Britain is produced in partnership with The Bulldog Trust and draws on the richness of regional public collections including The National Jazz Archive; The Higgins Bedford; Leeds Art Gallery; Town Hall Museum and Art Gallery, Newark; and Shire Hall Gallery, Stafford.

The exhibition is curated by Catherine Tackley, Professor and Head of Music at the University of Liverpool and one of the UK’s leading authorities on jazz.

On display at London's Two Temple Place until 22 April 2018. Admission is free. A series of events will accompany the exhibition.

About the Author

The Arts Society

  • 50th Anniversary

JOIN OUR MAILING LIST

Become an instant expert!

Find out more about the arts by becoming a Supporter of The Arts Society.

For just £20 a year you will receive invitations to exclusive member events and courses,  special offers and concessions, our regular newsletter and our beautiful arts magazine, full of news, views, events and artist profiles.

Find out more