Singing for their supper at the Swanjazz concert

The concert was staged by Wells Jazz Collective (WJC) and included both full-time and amateur artists. Fees offered to professionals were rejected in favour of a way of rewarding all the performers equally. They were treated to a buffet supper at the city’s Cafe Piano.

“It’s a very fair minded approach and means what we’ve saved on performance fees can help develop the WJC’s education programme,” said event organiser Paul Cannon.  

“We nurture jazz talent by running regular sessions where professionals back aspiring singers and players. Performing with first rate musicians in front of a live audience is invaluable experience and has helped a number of young, local players towards musical careers.” 

Now the group is building on that by setting up training workshops and master-classes with leading jazz artists. The project has been helped by a grant from Swans of Wells, a charitable trust dedicated to supporting local voluntary groups.

“The event on Sunday is pretty much the ‘Swanjazz’ concert,” said Paul Cannon. “It wouldn’t have happened without the help of Swans of Wells. And it’s a great way to celebrate the wealth of jazz talent we have in and around the city.”   

The bandstand session ran from 3 pm until 5 pm and featured a wide range of instruments and both female and male singers. Admission was free.

WJC blog - one of the best jazz jam sessions in somerset

The Wjc have running a jazz jam session now for years. Russell Collins set the organisation up a while ago now and since then we have gone from strength to strength.

The jam sessions are held every third Monday at cafe piano in wells somerset. Everyone is welcome.

There is always a good standard from the house trio and we get a range of players from around the area including Bristol, Bath, Taunton and Frome 

Many thanks to Russ for setting up the WJC and putting so much work into promoting gigs in the area! He is now taking a back seat with his work developing more now in Birmingham