About the club

Southport Melodic Jazz was founded in 1991 and operated for 11 years as a 'society' promoting occasional contemporary gigs in Southport's Scarisbrick Hotel. The present club, which now has over 200 members and a mailing list of more than 1100, was formed in 2001 as a not-for-profit private limited company run by a Board of unpaid enthusiastic volunteers.

We moved to our present 'home', The Royal Clifton Hotel on Southport's Promenade, in 2002 where we have held monthly Sunday club gigs ever since. In 2005 we held our first 'Jazz on a Winter's Weekend' February festival which celebrates its 8th anniversary in 2012 and attracts a nation-wide capacity audience. We now also hold 2 one day mini-festivals in June and December each year.

The whole thing has been achieved and financed by organic growth, without recourse to grants or subsidies, from an original investment (in 2001) of £1000 and a loan of £3000 which has been repaid. Annual membership costs £10 (£15 per couple at the same address). Non members are extremely welcome at all our gigs and usually account for about half our audience. Members get ticket discounts when possible. We heavily discount tickets to bona fide students and accompanied under 16's get in free to most club gigs.

We promote a mix of contemporary jazz including national and international stars as well as new and up and coming bands. We aim to pay our musicians as well as can be afforded through the support and attendance of our audiences and to manage our finances in a professional way which has so far engineered our growth and continuity.