With three major new jazz festivals, a new purpose-built jazz club, top-class big bands, a thriving jazz school and a wealth of grassroots players and gigs, jazz has never been stronger or better represented in the Brighton area.

Yet it can still be hard for new acts to break through to connect with audiences outside London, and many younger music fans are often unaware of the wealth of great young players currently moving the music forwards, and see jazz as something belonging to an older generation.

New Generation Jazz is a new, Arts-council supported project that will start to build some bridges. The aim is twofold – to help young artists develop audiences outside the capital, and to introduce young people in Brighton and the South-East to jazz and demonstrate what a vital, living tradition it is today.

There will be a year-long programme of monthly gigs, starting in October 2015 showcasing the very best in rising UK talent.

Each gig will be on the last Friday of every month at the Verdict Jazz Club.

The tickets will be held at a low price for students and young people.

Each of the featured artists will also lead a workshop in one of the schools and colleges across the city, giving our young musicians some hands-on experience of what it’s like to play jazz.

New Generation has partnered with educators, promoters and festivals in Brighton and beyond. The project will foster links between the many different participants in the local scene, and the City’s educators, to ensure the continuation of the music we all love into the New Generation.