Every great saga needs a prequel. Long before jazz made it on record in 1917, its foundations had been laid in the slave songs of American plantations, African polyrhythms, and the European classical tradition. In recognition of 100 years of recorded jazz, The Arts Society and East London music dynamo, Kansas Smitty's are coming together to tell the story of the way jazz became Jazz. 

On November 12th, through talks, interactive workshops and performances by some of the best young musicians in the country, the people and sounds that enabled the greatest leap forward in...