Chris hangs up his hat...

After 29 years at the helm, Jazz Services Director, Chris Hodgkins has taken the decision to retire.

Chris has been a  good friend of jazz promoters and musicians over the years. He was instrumental in the development of Jazz Services as a national resource for the music, championing its cause and offering his advice to anyone who required it.

Among his many successes, he helped to establish the National Touring Support Scheme with Debbie Dickenson, which has enabled the careers of hundreds of artists over the years, along with the organisation’s Rural Touring Support Scheme (with the National Rural Touring Forum), the Jazz Promoters Award (with the PRS for Music Foundation) and the Online Music Business Resource, which offers free career advice to anyone who needs it. Chris also helped to set up the annual Parliamentary Jazz Awards to recognise jazz talent and ensured the Arts Council’s continued support of Jazz Services.  His influence and guidance have been crucial to the careers of many of the UK’s top jazz artists, and his enormous contribution to the wider scene has already been recognised by the receipt of a BBC Jazz Award and a British Jazz Award - both for Services to Jazz.


Chris himself says, “It’s extremely satisfying to be able to look back on my time at Jazz Services with pride; not so much for myself, but for the work the whole organisation has done for the jazz scene and for the artists and promoters who have come through its schemes over the years.  To have been so involved in the scene and in the careers of the many fantastic players and volunteer promoters who have used Jazz Services is quite humbling, and I something will always cherish.  I wish to thank all the trustees at Jazz Services and everyone I’ve worked with over the years for their contribution.”