IMPORTANT NOTICE

A Letter from our Chairperson and Committee

This year we celebrate our 23rd year as a jazz club bringing what we are sure you’ll agree is the best of jazz to Bradford.  For 14 years and many of the over 320 gigs we’ve organised we have been extremely fortunate to have had Steve Bootland as our treasurer who has performed miracles in shepherding our finances and keeping our jazz boat well and truly afloat.  It’s not always been easy negotiating our way through the vicissitudes of the jazz ocean in which both Scylla and Charybdis in the shape of first Jazz Yorkshire and latterly NorVol have been subject to the difficult demands of the maelstrom that is Arts Council England.  Most often these days we manage without any external financial assistance.  However, even when we came through all those challenges we were hit by Covid which stopped us in our tracks for several months during which we had to cancel gigs which cost us and our engaged musicians hard.  Mercifully we emerged from that too and continue to thrive which to a large degree has been due to our loyal audience and our patrons who kept up payments even during the period when no gigs were programmed. It is also down to Steve’s fantastic financial stewardship.  

About a year ago Steve and wife Julie moved to be closer to their daughter and now live 8 miles east of York and a mere 35 from Bridlington.  Despite this Steve has been here month in and month out to help set out the room, help at the cash desk and continue his treasurer’s role making those Fridays a particular strain; heavens knows what time he manages to get to bed on those nights!  Regrettably Steve has finally taken the obvious and wise decision that such a situation cannot continue but characteristically he has given us plenty of notice and is still prepared to see this new year out until July 2024.  This places us in a considerable dilemma: we must find a replacement treasurer as well as more willing bodies to come onto our committee or at least step up to the plate to help with the physical set-up and take-down.  His main role we see as being one that could be a job-share if necessary and we are happy to discuss options with anyone.  We shall keep our request in this matter live until Christmas but we must be frank in that should we be unable to find anyone to help generally and particularly we will be left with no other alternative than to consider winding up the club.  It is very much over to you.