Birmingham has been a hotbed for jazz music for over a century in a city that prides itself on embracing influences from all over the world. As early as the 1920s, it was one of the very few areas outside of London that had access to the sounds and styles of this fascinating genre. The Birmingham Palais opened in 1920 and was quickly transformed into a home for both British and American touring jazz musicians and groups of international renown that included the Frisco Jazz Band, Benny Peyton’s Jazz Kings and Bill Shenkman’s Buffalo Orchestra.
Jazz Culture Boom in the City
The Second World War and the associated slow recovery of all of the UK major cities inevitably had an impact on the live music infrastructure. However, driven by the developing tastes of the returning soldiers and a desire from the area’s population to learn more about this liberating art form, a new mid-20th century jazz boom began. Birmingham Town Hall was known to host jazz concerts and evenings throughout 1946 and when The Rhythm Club and The Hot Club opened in 1948, a jazz culture rapidly expanded with jam sessions and gigs becoming a regular occurrence.
In 2025, the spirit of jazz in Birmingham is alive and well. Annual festivals and evolving sub-genres are enthusiastically celebrated within a scene that shows no signs of slowing down.
Our guide to the best jazz venues in Birmingham is a collection of the very best spots to visit and become a part of that scene.
The Jam House - Jewellery Quarter
This incredible Georgian building on St. Paul’s Square was transformed into a live music venue in the spring of 1999 with a few famous names at the helm. It was the British cultural icon Jools Holland and the designer Neil Tibbatt who had the vision to make The Jam House into a fine example of music, dining, with a welcoming but intimate club atmosphere. After a quarter of a century, it is now one of the main players in the city for jazz, blues and fusion concerts. It operates on three floors with a total capacity of 600 and a stunning restaurant balcony that overlooks the stage. Although The Jam House is tied to its jazz identity, there is always room for more experimental acts with instrumental or groove-based acts featuring regularly on the calendar here. It also draws some of the biggest Jazz acts in the UK, such as Shakatak, the impressive collective that features legendary soul singer Omar. The Jam House is a headline venue for the Birmingham jazz aficionados.
Birmingham Jazz Club - 1000 Trades
The 1000 Trades bar & kitchen on Frederick Street is a prestigious venue built inside what was once a 19th-century jewellery workshop and named after the famous saying that Birmingham was ‘the city of a thousand trades.’ Since 2016, the upstairs room here has been home to a weekly programme of flagship jazz gigs and appearances that make Friday night click in this neighbourhood. Local and international artists working in the modern and creative jazz genres take to the stage to start the weekend with acts such as Henrik Jansen Trio and Dennis Rollins recently appearing.
This feels much more like a traditional jazz club of old, with an intimate setting that makes the music the most important element. The connection between the audience and performer is heightened through proximity and atmosphere to produce an electric energy, particularly when the room is full. It is perhaps the community's focus on these evenings that presents this venue with a unique identity amongst its competition, however. Artworks from local artists, pop-up food stalls and Birmingham craft beers are all on show as the perfect support act for a great evening of jazz.
Digbeth Jazz - The Night Owl Club
The effects of the pandemic on the live music scene took away some incredibly important venues in all UK cities. The Spotted Dog on Warwick Street had been home to weekly jazz nights that became an unofficial home to Birmingham’s jazz community of artists and audiences that often shared the stage with international touring acts there. When the pub sadly ceased around 2023, a small collective of local musicians and promoters moved the operation down the road to The Night Owl club on Lower Trinity Street and Digbeth Jazz was born.
With a clearer sound system and a proper stage, the open-door energy and true jazz philosophy are alive and well every Tuesday night at Digbeth Jazz. The brick walls, subtle amber glow of the lighting and the ever-so-faint rumble of trains passing nearby present a fantastic atmosphere that could be straight out of the jazz history books. A program of 60-minute sets by a touring guest band followed by the enthralling jam sessions, where all hands with an instrument are welcome, is a real spectacle to behold. This is a jazz evening in its purest form, with no limits to creativity and development, all happening live in front of the crowd’s eyes.
Eastside Jazz Club - Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is so imbued with jazz credentials that it cites itself as the only venue in the city that was designed and developed specifically for live jazz improvisation. And the setting and supporting equipment certainly bear that out with enviable sound, lighting and layout that provides peerless quality with an intimate atmosphere. As part of Birmingham City University, many of the students find themselves in the position of warm-up acts or benefit from free tickets to the events that really push the boundaries of what this special music genre can achieve.
On the first Thursday of every month, the Paul Dunmall Invites events showcase some of the very best jazz improvisation work that one can witness anywhere in the country. Everything about the Eastside Jazz Club is ambitious and technically outstanding, from the venue specs, through to the educational and development elements and down to the music on show. This is a modern jazz venue done perfectly with an eye to the future, nurturing the all-important acts of tomorrow.
What all of these venues share is an understanding that jazz is much more than simply a genre of music. It is a lifestyle that seeks to find joy and new sounds outside of the barriers of conventional music and its setting. Being part of that as an audience member, or a collaborative musician on jam nights, is an experience that can be transformative, interesting and entertaining, and the city of Birmingham is a great home for it all.
