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343 Illustration by Joyce Mercer in Britannia, 18 January 1929 showing jazz music competing with other domestic noise4 A jazz-influenced abstract design from the periodJAZZY DESIGNS AND IMAGERY PERMEATED MANY AREAS OF THE VISUAL ARTSAmerican singer Bessie Smith and the avuncular white bandleader Paul Whiteman both being among those first to reach the million-selling mark worldwide. And with the BBC’s radio relays from the Savoy in London, it also became possible to listen at home to some of this country’s finest jazz musicians at the very moment they were playing. Of course there was controversy at the BBC about what should be broadcast, when it should be heard, and which elements of public taste should be catered for, but then as now, if the arguments seemed equally weighted on both sides, the BBC — aiming at Reithian impartiality — reckoned it had got things about right.So if this shows us something of the changes in how jazz reached its public up to 1939, what can we learn of the musicians and instruments that actually made the music? The exhibition will offer us the chance to get close and personal with the artefacts on which jazz was performed. British brass and woodwind manufacturers swiftly caught on to making ideal instruments for jazz performance, rivaling their French and American counterparts, just as British drum makers constructed kits — or trap sets as they were known then — that laid the foundation for such long-lived and popular brands as Premier drums, whose Leicester factory opened in 1922. And as well as the instruments themselves, there’ll be the chance to see some of the stars of the music, in photographs, paintings, cartoons and sketches. The ‘jazz age’ was an era when the running in making the music was still being made by Americans, both black and white, and until our own Musicians’ Union made it increasingly difficult for US visitors to perform here in the ‘30s, many of the great pioneers worked in Britain. So we’ll see how British The Arts Society is looking forward to 2018, which marks a significant milestone – our golden jubilee. To celebrate, we are holding an excitingexhibition on the age of jazz, set to attract more than 50,000 visitors. It reflects a new focus for our organisation – connecting with new audiences and cover-ing a wider range of subjects across the arts – and will even include objects lent by our members.During 2018, we will celebrate our work over the last 50 years as NADFAS, while also looking ahead to our next chapter as The Arts Society. We look forward to welcoming visitors to the exhibition and introducing more people to our work.IMAGES: MARY EVANS PICTURE LIBRARYCELEBRATING 50 YEARS34THE AGE OF JAZZThe Arts Society ReviewAutumn 2017