Calling all Irish creative music professionals, musicians, labels, promoters and managers!

Improvised Music Company (Dublin) and Moving On Music (Belfast) extend an invitation to Irish jazz musicians, music organisations, agents and venues to attend the first ever Irish Meet-and-Greet for the Jazz Promotion Network (JPN) in Belfast on Tuesday March 6th.

JPN is a collaborative network of organisations, venues, festivals and agents that encompasses Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales. JPN aims to connect people, champion talent and develop opportunities for artists, audiences and cultural agents.

IMC Director Kenneth Killeen was elected to the Board of JPN in May 2017, with a core aim of circulating Irish artists throughout the UK, and advocating for Irish artists within the strong and growing JPN network, which covers Ireland (North and South), England, Scotland and Wales.

March 6th sees the next JPN Board Meeting take place in The MAC, Belfast, jointly hosted on this occasion, by IMC and Moving On Music, as well as this open Meet-and-Greet event and an Irish artist showcase.

The JPN presents important opportunities for generating and sustaining work for our respective artists across these Isles, including a wealth of collaborative potential as well as jointly building a cohesive framework around the dissemination of strong jazz and improvising artists from the UK and Ireland.

Increased engagement with the JPN by the collective Irish jazz scene is critical to the sustainability of the network and represents opportunities for Irish musicians and organisations.

JPN represents potential as a conduit to touring for Irish artists. As the membership is predominantly made up of industry peers, the collective experience of the network can create practical touring models, circulate talent between the islands, and act as a conduit to other European export bureaus.

Membership of JPN also presents opportunities for Irish bookers to engage with high calibre UK and EU based talent for import. The “Going Dutch” project, a collaboration with Netherlands Export Bureau ‘Dutch Performing Arts’, is an excellent ongoing example of this, facilitating subvented touring and performance options for Irish performances of Dutch and Dutch based talent.

The Meet-and-Greet will be followed later in the evening by three short Irish showcases.

The three acts performing in the Irish Jazz Showcase at 8pm in The Black Box are Dublin vocalist Sue Rynhart (featuring Francesco Turrisi on piano), Derry guitarist Joseph Leighton with his trio, and Cork trombonist Paul Dunlea with his quintet.

What is this?

A gathering of Irish music and arts industry and artists.

An introduction to the Jazz Promotion Network.

A showcase of 3 Irish acts.

When it is?

Tuesday March 6th 2018

2-4pm : JPN Networking event for members and UK and Irish jazz professionals

8-10pm : Showcase Performances

Where?

Networking and Meet-and-Greet 2-4pm at The Mac, Belfast

Showcase Performacnes 8-10pm at The Black Box. Information here

RSVP here

If you are not familiar with the work of the JPN, read more about it HERE