News for 2024

Hello and Happy 2024

We bring you our new programme of cool acts, hot jazz and some very special events including an International Women’s Day double bill, the new album from ARQ beginning with a live recording at the Vortex and a mention to the wonderful Carol Grimes who celebrates her 80th Birthday in April!

Fri 8 Mar SeaChange + Jan Allain St Matthias Hall N16 8DD International Women’s Day event BOOK
Thur 18 April ZOE LEWIS St Matthias Hall N16 8DD
Only London gig with special guest Gary Hammond BOOK
Fri 31 May Ruthie Smith & Friends BOOK
Supergroup’ of friends & former members of The Guest Stars & Toot Suite

We also have a Blow the Fuse programmed season  for Lauderdale House, now in our third season. After the success of the first two seasons, with nearly every gig sold out, it can only be downhill from here (haha).
No, not at all! We’ve booked some wonderful bands and with the superb team at Lauderdale House we’re hoping it will be as splendid and popular as our first two seasons were. Thursday nights,

MAY 2 Kate Williams Quartet featuring Mike Outram

May 16 Clark Tracy Quintet

May 30 Jim Mullen Organ Trio

JUN 13 Carol Grimes & Friends Highgate Festival

JUN 27 Elaine Delmar legendary jazz singer

Award-winning musicians Deirdre and Alison have run their own jazz club for over 30 years and will carry forward ‘Jazz in the House’ in the spirit of Brian Blain and his tireless support for musicians and live music.
#jazzinthehouse

Blow the Fuse ‘On Air’ 
In 2020 – 2021, we were awarded funding by the Arts Council of England to produce a series of online concerts recorded exclusively by Blow the Fuse from the Vortex Jazz Club in Dalston plus archive film footage and interviews. We’d like to thank everyone who’s supported us through these extraordinary times and to all of you who became a BTF Patron through donations. Your support was crucial and helped us to produce TEN shows in all. A very steep but rewarding learning curve.

All shows can now be viewed anytime on our You Tube channel HERE

Carol Grimes • Deirdre Cartwright • Liane Carroll • Annie Whitehead
D’n’A present vintage Guest Stars • Martha & Eve + The  DaDa Dandies
Back to the 70s • The Casimir Connection + Add3io • Ian Shaw • ARQ

Please join our club by clicking here and receive links to the shows. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and look on our fb page for more updates. See you at a LIVE gig soon!

Many thanks to the Arts Council Of England for their support….

We’ve won the 2020 award for ‘Services to Jazz’ at the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Awards.
Thanks to everyone involved, it meant a lot to us, we’re really honoured.

Tomorrow the Moon, supported by PRS Foundation’s The Open Fund began in January 2020. We have finally been able to stage our last two events of this season this Autumn 2022 with Alex Clarke and ARQ + Balledestre.

We were delighted to have received funding to record the latest ARQ album ‘Short Stories’ and for a national tour promoting the album.

and to the equally wonderful people working at the PRSF for the Women Make music fund.

Thank you to all our supporters and watch this space for more news…

BTF we are..

C R E A T I V E    •   C U R I O U S
•  
E X P E R I E N C E D  •

In May 2019, Blow the Fuse celebrated 30 years. Started in 1989 by musicians and composers Deirdre Cartwright and Alison Rayner who were members of the internationally acclaimed jazz group The Guest Stars, BTF have played a crucial role in raising awareness about women jazz musicians and importantly giving them support, a space and opportunity to perform in times which have sometimes been very challenging.

BTF have been very much part of the new resurgence of jazz musicians, which contain many talented young women. Beginning in 2012, Blow the Fuse seasons Tomorrow the Moon one small step for women’ have featured groups led by composers Laura Jurd, Yazz Ahmed, Laura Cole, Dee Byrne, Shirley Tetteh, Lauren Kinsella, Roz Harding, Nikki Iles, Shama Rahman, Daphna Sadeh, Flo Moore, Chelsea Carmichael, Camilla George and Nubya Garcia.

BTF have managed many UK jazz tours with new musical works, innovative collaborations and educational projects and run the Blow the Fuse record label. Last year we produced Blow the Fuse ‘On Air’ a series of online performances recorded live from The Vortex. We’ve had over 13,000 views for these shows on You Tube and Facebook.

 Performances for the ‘Resistance’ and ‘Tomorrow the Moon’ seasons took place at the Vortex Jazz Club and the Old Church on Stoke Newington Church Street. 2022 saw the club move to St Matthias Halls in N16. 2023 Blow the Fuse programmes at ‘Jazz in the House’ Lauderdale House, Waterlow Park, Highgate, London.  See our gigs page for details on all our events.

ARQ New Album live recording

Spring 2024

Thurs Mar 28 Folkestone The Tower Theatre  BOOK
Thurs Apr 4 Leicester The Musician  BOOK
Tues May 21 London The Vortex LIVE recording BOOK
Fri June 7 
Chichester Jazz Club BOOK

Bright, open jazz music that rejoices in human experience without sentimentalising it. A collection of eight perfectly formed originals that makes the most of three standout soloists.”
BBC Music Magazine ★★★★

‘A Celebration of life itself ‘ LondonJazzNews

LIVE songs from the album ‘Short Stories’


ARQ website HERE

‘Croajingolong Bushwalk’ from ‘Short Stories’ is available as a FREE download on
iTunes/ Apple Music and Spotify.