Sheffield Jazz: the volunteer charity keeping great jazz live for over 50 years

Some of the biggest names in jazz have played Sheffield, and many of them came thanks to a group of volunteers. Sheffield Jazz, a registered charity run wholly by volunteers, has been bringing the best of national and international jazz to the city since 1974.

It began as Hurlfield Jazz, set up by a small group of local musicians with a Yorkshire Arts grant. Fred Brown, who ran the adult education programme at Hurlfield school, used the school hall for weekend gigs. Over the following years the group moved between pubs and venues, including a long spell at the Leadmill from 1983 until 1991, when it was renamed Sheffield Jazz.

The list of musicians it has booked reads like a history of the genre: Ronnie Scott, Dexter Gordon, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Sun Ra, Stephane Grappelli, Courtney Pine and a young Jamie Cullum among them. More recent visitors include Fergus McCreadie, Emma Rawicz, Laura Jurd and Yazz Ahmed.

Since 2016 the charity has been based at Crookes Social Club, while also staging joint concerts with the University of Sheffield at Firth Hall. Its 50th anniversary concert at the Crucible in May 2024, with the Tony Kofi and Emma Rawicz quartets, drew more than 700 people.

The autumn 2026 programme continues the tradition. Pianist Zoe Rahman, a MOBO Award winner, Mercury Prize nominee and Ivor Novello Award winner, brings her trio to Firth Hall on 19 November to play music from Hull Suite Live, followed by harpist Alina Bzhezhinska with saxophonist Tony Kofi on 29 November. Tickets are kept affordable, with £10 tickets for 18 to 30 year olds and students and free entry for under-15s at the Rahman gig.

Sheffield Jazz also runs a Saturday morning workshop where people who play or sing can learn jazz improvisation in a supportive group. Now in its 40th year, it has five groups ranging from beginners to more experienced players.

The charity runs 20 to 25 gigs a year, funded by donations and Gift Aid rather than grants, and is always keen to welcome new volunteers.

Gig listings, the workshop and the Friends scheme are on the Sheffield Jazz website.