Study and play jazz with top jazz musicians

Inclusive, friendly jazz courses for intermediate and advanced players and singers

Spring Jazz Course 6th - 9th April 2027 with arrival on 5th April

Royal Hospital School, Holbrook, Ipswich, Suffolk IP9 2RX

See the compilation video from our 2026 course here

“The effort you have lavished on the course is enormously appreciated...I have learnt a huge amount"

"The tutors are fantastic"

"Well organised and enjoyed playing and learnt lots"

"As, always, the tutors were superb”

“Lovely supportive atmosphere...another fantastic, really enjoyable course”

"The level of tutoring is outstanding"

“The whole week was excellent. Each session was equally enjoyable and I learned something from each one”

"I had a fantastic time and really can't express how much it meant to me".

Do you play an instrument or sing and want to get to grips with jazz? Or are you an intermediate or advanced player who wants to up your game?

Our popular and highly acclaimed four-day course for intermediate and advanced players and singers takes place in the beautiful Suffolk countryside setting of the Royal Hospital School overlooking the Stour Estuary, using their purpose built, modern and well-equiped music school and other venues on site (see pictures in The Gallery). Taught by our established team of top quality, hand-picked tutors. We consistently receive satisfaction ratings of more than 95%. Minimum age 18. No maximum age.

We provide an enjoyable and high quality experience by keeping the tutor/participant ratio at about 1:7 and by fostering a creative, respectful and friendly atmosphere to bring out the best in your playing or singing. Our courses have always had strongly positive feedback.

The course includes:

Lots of playing and singing jazz in small and large groups
Four days tuition with different tutors
Tutors in Focus sessions exploring different musical topics
Carousel sessions where you work in different groups on new music
Pop-up bands and jazz choral groups
Jazz harmony, rhythm and theory
Improvisation
Public performances
Tutors' concert
Evening jam sessions on site in our own jazz club with licensed bar "The Hi-Hat"
Evening jam sessions led by a guest tutor.

Tutors: George Double (Drums and Music Director), Ned Bennett (Saxophone & Associate Music Director), Alan Barnes (Saxophone & Clarinet), Paul Higgs (Trumpet), Chris Ingham (Keyboard & Piano), Joanna Eden (Vocals), Chris Allard (Guitar), Simon Thorpe (Bass). Plus guest tutors to lead the evening jam sessions. Read more about our tutors.

The course runs 9.30 – 5.00 each day plus the optional evening jam sessions. See the outline course programme below.

The course uses core music which includes guidance on harmony and improvisation plus you are also issued with additional pieces selected by each tutor which are chosen to meet the needs of the band you are in. Sheet music and a listening playlist are issued about one month in advance, so you have time to become familiar with the course material.

We also offer two optional online study sessions of one and half hours each to examine the core music led by tutor Ned Bennett and which will be held in March 2027. Cost is just £40. These kickstart your improvisation over the core music. We'll issue more details about the online sessions nearer the time to everyone who signs up for the course.

Fees

Residential with ensuite shower/toilet and full board (three meals a day): £650.
Residential with shared bathroom and full board: £590
Non-residential with lunch: £450. Evening meals £18 per meal.
Partners staying on site, not on the course and full board (can attend performances free): £299

How to apply:

Complete the application from on our website and email it.
When you apply, please say whether you are applying for a non-residential or a residential place.
If you are applying for a residential place, please say whether you want to have:
- A bedroom with a low bed
- A bedroom with an ensuite shower and toilet or a bedroom with a shared bathroom at a cheaper rate.
- Whether you would like to have a partner stay with you and their full name. If your partner is also on the course, we need an application form completed by them.

Please also, pay a deposit of £100 to our bank account.

This is a popular course, so we advise you to apply without delay.

Our prices offer great value and are competitive with other music courses. We can accept payments by instalments – please ask. Payments are to be made by bank transfer - we'll give you our bank details when you sign up. Sign up using the application form on this website. Call us on 07798 783574 or email neiljazzsax@outlook.com if you would like to discuss anything.

Residential accomodation and meals: See photos of the site in the gallery on this website.

The accommodation is in school boarding houses. This is basic, clean and secure but is not of a hotel standard. Rooms have a bed, desk and chair. Most beds are high beds (like the upper bed of a bunk bed). Bedding is provided, but please bring your own towels. Meals are of a healthy and decent quality, with a range of options for different dietary preferences, but it is school catering, not restaurant style food. We provide free tea and coffee and we also have a licensed bar open in the evenings with a range of alcohol and non alcohol drinks at competitive prices.

There is lots of free car parking on site and it has good disability access (though some movement between buildings is required). We can connect you with a reliable, local private hire driver to and from Ipswich or Manningtree stations if you travel by train.

Day Courses

We've run many Day Courses including Start to Play Jazz, Big Band in a Day, Blues for All, Dixieland and Trad Jazz, Jazz Choir in a Day, Saxophone Day, Guitar Special, Vocal Tuition, Duke Elllington tunes and also workshops with musicians from Jools Holland's Rythmn and Blues Orchestra. Join our emailing list to keep in touch.

Start To Play and Sing Jazz with Anna Brooks and Iwan Van Hetten

Castle Hill Community Centre, Highfield Road, Ipswich

Saturday 25th July 2026, 9.30 - 16.30

For players of all musical instruments as well as singers who'd like to explore jazz. A very popular, exciting and enjoyable introduction to playing and/or singing jazz and improvisation or for those with some jazz experience who'd like to revisit the basic building blocks. If you play an instrument, you should have basic music reading skills and if you've studied music grades, have achieved Grade 3 or 4. Singers don't have to be able to read music.

Even if you don't want to play or sing lots of jazz, learning how to play jazz will help your musicianship. Two easier tunes with sheet music issued in advance.

If you play an instrument, through practical exercises and guided sessions you will explore key jazz concepts such as scales, chord progressions, time-feel and phrasing, helping you build confidence in your improvisation. Singers will work with a tutor on pitch, jazz phrasing, rhythm and working with a band. Led by experienced jazz musicians Anna Brooks and Iwan Van Hetten, this course will provide you with essential tools and techniques to unlock your creativity and take your improvisation to the next level.

Tutors

Renowned saxophonist Anna Brooks is celebrated as a performer, educator and music arranger, known for her dynamic presence on stage and her dedication to teaching saxophone and improvisation. Formerly a key member of The Brooklyn Funk Essentials, she now graces stages in the UK and abroad with Jools Holland’s Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. With a mission to demystify improvisation, Anna is also a tutor at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire as well as leading numerous workshops across the UK.

Iwan VanHetten is a highly skilled trumpeter, keyboardist, musical director and producer with over 30 years of experience performing, touring and recording with renowned artists including Candy Dulfer, Paco Sery, The Yellowjackets, and the Brooklyn Funk Essentials. A dedicated educator, he currently teaches jazz and music production at Royal Birmingham and Leeds Conservatoires, offering a straightforward, hands-on approach to music education. As a multi-instrumentalist with expertise in band leadership, improvisation, composition and production, Iwan brings a wealth of real-world knowledge to his workshops, helping musicians of all levels refine their craft and expand their creativity.

The day includes a mini performance for friends and family and lots of musical activity. Cost £65. To apply, just email: neiljazzsax@outlook.com or via this link: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/suffolk-jazz-school/t-avrekgy

Jazz Improvisation - To the Next Level in Your Own Way with Hannah Horton

Castle Hill Community Centre, Highfield Road, Ipswich

Saturday 26th September 2026, 9.30 - 16.30

This day for intermediate and advanced instrumentalists, (including rhythm section players), will explore practical ways to help you build on your improvisation skills and help you find your own musical voice. Advanced players who are confident solo performers, will also find it useful to explore new forms of musical expression.

Throughout the day we’ll work together as a full ensemble, exploring ways to shape solos, develop ideas and respond musically to each other. Hannah will share practical tips on how to structure a solo, and ways to begin and end even when you feel you have no idea what to play. The focus will be on musical expression and communication, helping you move beyond patterns and play with greater freedom and intention. There will be opportunities to try out ideas during rehearsals and gradually build confidence in a supportive setting. The day will finish with an informal performance for family and friends.

Our tutor Hannah Horton is an artist who goes her own way. As an award-winning, Selmer endorsed saxophonist and composer, a bandleader, and a successful recording artist, her strong, clear tone, powerful rhythmic sense and compelling sense of melody make her an unmistakeable voice on the scene. Recognition from the musical establishment has come in the form of awards, endorsements and diplomas, but it’s the way that audiences respond to her unashamedly positive, uninhibitedly personal music, and the emotional honesty of her accessible, engaging take on jazz that delivers the definitive accolade. Alongside her own artistic career, education and giving back to the community has always been an important part of Hannah’s musical identity. She founded J-Steps, a jazz ensemble for female and non-binary improvising musicians and received the 2023 Parliamentary Jazz Award for Jazz Education Of The Year in recognition of her accomplishments.

Cost £65. To apply, just email: neiljazzsax@outlook.com or via this link: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/suffolk-jazz-school/t-zoopdvy

Jazz Choir in a Day with Ian Shaw

Saturday 16th January 2027 9.30-16.30

Copdock Village Hall, Copdock, Ipswich,

We are repeating this enjoyable event. Have fun singing in a pop-up jazz choir. No experience required, you can sing high or low, badly or well; you only need to enjoy singing and to enjoy jazz. Experienced singers are also welcome. Led by the amazing, engaging and well-known jazz vocalist Ian Shaw. We'll sing several songs and you can also bring a jazz song of your choice to work on (depending on demand, we may have to limit how many we do). The day also includes a mini-performance by Ian and ends with a performance by our pop-up jazz choir for family and friends at 4pm.

Ian Shaw is one of the most recognisable names on the UK jazz scene, performing in the UK and worldwide both solo and in collaboration with an array of first-class musicians and ensembles. His career of over thirty-five years encompasses not only music but also broadcasting, comedy and acting. “The leading male jazz singer of his generation in the UK” (Jazzwise, 2008), Ian delivers “shades of Mark Murphy and Jon Hendricks, artists in whose company Shaw very much belongs.” (All About Jazz, 2025)

Ian is the recipient of two BBC Jazz Awards and a Parliamentary Jazz Award. Cost £35. Tea and coffee included, but please bring a packed lunch.

Tickets available via this link: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/suffolk-jazz-school/t-kddrqrg

Planned for 17th July 2027

Castle Hill Community Centre, Highfield Road, Ipswich

Advanced Jazz Improvisation led by trumpeter Quentin Collins. Details to be announced in autumn 2026.

Spring Jazz Course 2027 Programme

Please note: some details of the programme may change

	Tuesday 6th April	Wednesday 7th April	Thursday 8th April	Friday 9th April
8.00	Breakfast & Music School open	Breakfast & Music School open	Breakfast & Music School open	Breakfast & Music School open
9.00	Meet & greet. Portable Appliance Tests for amps, etc	Informal jam & practice sessions	Informal jam & practice sessions	Informal jam & practice sessions
9.30	Course briefing	Course briefing	Course briefing	Course briefing
9.45	Instrumental & vocal tuition	Instrumental & vocal tuition	Small group, instrumental, drum & vocal tuition	Band sessions
11.00	Break	Break	Break	Break
11.20	Band sessions & drum tuition	Band sessions & drum tuition	Band sessions	Band sessions
12.35	Lunch break	Lunch break	Lunch break	Lunch break
1.45	Tutors' Concert (open to the public - £7.50, free for participants and under 18s)	Tutors in Focus Sessions	Tutors in Focus Sessions	1.35 Set up concert
2.45	Break	Break	Break
3.00	Carousel session	Carousel session	Massed band & mini choir performance	1.45 Concert by bands and ensemble performance. (Open to friends, family & the public; free)
4.00	Band & singers performances. (Open to friends, family & the public; free)	Band & singers performances. (Open to friends, family & the public; free)	Band & singers performances. (Open to friends, family & the public; free)	About 4.30: Course ends. Farewell event.
5.00	End followed by dinner	End followed by dinner	End followed by dinner
6.45-9.45	Jam session in our pop-up jazz club with licensed bar, "The Hi-Hat" led by guest tutor	Jam session in The Hi-Hat led by guest tutor	Jam session in The Hi-Hat led by guest tutor
10 - late	Informal socialising in the recreation area	Informal socialising in the recreation area	Informal socialising in the recreation area

Carousel sessions: Participants split into two groups on the first two days and then perfom on the third day. These are active learning events featuring learning and performances of a specially arranged piece of music for both instrumentalists and singers.

Tutors in Focus sessions: You choose options and study musical topics in-depth:

Practice rooms: These are available to use all day.

Pre-course social Monday 5th April: Access to residential accomodation is available from late afternoon on Monday 5th April with an evening meal followed by an informal social event and quiz in the Hi-Hat.

Our Brilliant Spring Jazz Course Tutors

We've also recruited three guest tutors to work with us during the evening jam sessions - Derek Nash, Martin Hathaway and John Seeley.

Sometimes for reasons beyond our control, tutor line-up may change.

George Double

Drum tutor and Music Director

George’s playing and recording credits include Dame Shirley Bassey, Grammy Award Winner Jack Jones, Marc Almond, Ruthie Henshall and Kym Mazelle.

His West End and touring theatre record includes stints on Wicked, Guys and Dolls, Avenue Q, Sinatra and Anything Goes.

Active on the British jazz scene and appears regularly at Ronnie Scott’s club in London and elsewhere as a freelancer (with John Etheridge, Digby Fairweather, Derek Nash, Alan Barnes, Art Themen, The Joe Loss Orchestra and many others).

He is also curator of Hadleigh and Southwold Jazz Clubs.

George is the senior drum kit consultant for Trinity College London. His books and arrangements are published by Trinity and Faber Music, for whom he has run seminars and workshops in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai and Abu Dhabi as well as at MusikMesse Frankfurt, the London Drum Show and around the UK.

He worked as an examiner for Trinity and formerly, Guildhall School of Music and Drama from 2002-2016. www.georgedouble.com

Ned Bennett

Saxophone & Assistant Music Director

Ned Bennett combines his time as a saxophonist, composer, author, arranger and educator in equal measures. Having studied at Bristol University and the Guildhall School of Music, he plays regularly at jazz clubs and festivals around the UK, often with his own project, The Harlem Meer Cats, playing pared-down arrangements of the Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway bands of the 20s and 30s. He is the author of many tutor books on saxophone and jazz playing, published by Faber, Wise Music, Boston Music etc, and teaches at a prestigious school in London. His arrangements have included large-scale vocal projects for Jacqui Dankworth, Joe Stilgoe, Claire Martin, and Clare Teal, and he often receives commissions for other orchestrations and miscellaneous compositions. www.worldofned.co.uk

Alan Barnes

Alan Barnes is a prolific international performer, composer, arranger, bandleader and touring soloist, best known for his work on clarinet, alto and baritone sax.

He has made over thirty albums as leader and co-leader alone and he has toured and played residencies with such diverse and demanding figures as Ruby Braff, Freddie Hubbard, Scott Hamilton, Warren Vache, Ken Peplowski, Harry Allen and Conte Candoli.

In British jazz, the young Barnes was recognized – and hired – by the established greats of the time: Stan Tracey, John Dankworth, Kenny Baker, Bob Wilber, and Humphrey Lyttelton. But he is equally respected for his longstanding and fruitful collaborations with contemporaries such as David Newton, Bruce Adams, and Martin Taylor.

He written many compositions and arrangements including “The Sherlock Holmes Suite”, “A Jazz Christmas Carol” and “Copperfield’ and runs a successful jazz record label, Woodville Records.

Alan has received over 35 British Jazz Awards including alto saxophone and best album in 2019 and has twice been made BBC Jazz Musician of the Year.

www.alanbarnesjazz.com

Joanna Eden

Vocals

Joanna Eden first established herself as one of the foremost singer/pianist/songwriters to watch in the 2000’s with a breakout album on Universal Records, airplay on the BBC, as well as touring with the likes of Jamie Cullum, Van Morrison, the Buena Vista Social Club and Ronan Keating at festivals all over the UK.

Joanna has written over 60 original songs, was a featured judge on BBC One’s singing programme “All Together Now” and is a highly sought-after vocal coach having mentored international mega star Sam Smith.“The reason I sing …..” says Sam Smith. She has run community music projects for Opera North, Saffron Hall, Addenbrookes University Trust, The Young Foundation and Anglia Ruskin University where she has been a tutor since 2010.

Her live show combines the energy and rhythmic diversity of Latin music together with the intimacy and honesty of her highly acclaimed jazz-influenced work. Joanna’s 6th studio album ‘Love Quiet’ is due for release this autumn.

www.joannaeden.net

Paul Higgs

Trumpet & brass

Trumpeter Paul Higgs is renowned as one of the UK’s leading trumpet players and composers. He is sought after as a versatile composer and performer in the varied world of theatre, film, TV, gigs and concerts. His album Pavanne reached Number 1 in the One World World Music charts.

Blending the traditions of classical and jazz, he is an accomplished music educator who has the ability to communicate the subtlety and richness of jazz to his students in an engaging manner.

Paul has performed with a wide variety of other musicians including Johnny Dankworth, Nancy Wilson and Shorty Rogers. For many years Paul was a Musical Director for the National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company. www.paulhiggs.com

Chris Ingham

Keyboard / Piano

Described by The London Evening Standard as “one of Britain’s best singer-pianists", Chris has led 200 festival and club performances of his Hoagy Carmichael, Dudley Moore and Stan Getz shows. His current repertoire project is Steely Jazz, a jazz quintet take on the compositions of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. Musical director of film song quintet Jazz At The Movies and classic modern jazz sextet Rebop, Chris is also a record producer (Ruthie Henshall, Joanna Eden), author (Rough Guides to The Beatles and Frank Sinatra) and TV composer (Wartime Crime, How The Beatles Changed The World). Based in East Anglia, he curates jazz clubs in Diss (The Corn Hall) and Bury St Edmunds (Hunter Club) and gives one-to-one tuition in person and via Zoom.

www.chrisingham.co.uk.

Chris Allard

Guitar

Chris has performed at prestigious venues such as the Royal Festival Hall, Montreux Jazz Festival, The O2 Arena in London, Duoro Jazz Festival in Portugal, the Pyramids and Great Sphinx in Cairo, BBC Proms in Hyde Park, Beiteddine Arts Festival Lebanon, the Royal Albert Hall.

He has performed/recorded with Jacqui Dankworth, Russell Watson, Jamie Cullum, Charlie Wood, the BBC Big Band, Alison Balsom and Dame Cleo Laine, amongst others. Chris’s band has played all over the UK and in Europe, including the International Guitar Festival and Ronnie Scott’s.

His most recent solo album Invisible Landscape was his fourth as a bandleader, and received critical acclaim including: ★★★★ Guitarist Magazine.

Chris is also a Professor of Jazz at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he is currently doing a PhD in contemporary jazz guitar.

www.chrisallard.co.uk

Simon Thorpe

Bass

Simon Thorpe is one of the UK's best-known and most versatile jazz bassists, nominated in 2016 and 2017 for a British Jazz Award.

Simon studied violin, guitar and drums before settling on the bass in 1991. He attended Guildhall School of Music & Drama where he gained the postgraduate certificate in Jazz & Studio Music, and an LGSM.

Simon has worked with many of the great UK and US names in jazz, recording and touring with Bobby Wellins, Stacey Kent (with whom he recorded five albums), Bheki Mseleku, Alan Barnes, Elaine Delmar, Scott Hamilton, Benn Clatworthy and Ray Gelato. Outside the jazz sphere he has played with artists as diverse as Amy Winehouse, Imelda Staunton, Imogen Heap, Alexander Armstrong, Maria Ewing, Mica Paris, Rick Astley (yes!), Sean McGowan of the Pogues and Scottish folk fiddle wizard John McCusker. He runs several of his own bands and is also known as a composer and arranger.

https://www.simonthorpemusic.com/

Spring Jazz Course Application Form

To apply for the Spring Jazz Course, please download and complete the Application Form.

Application Form
PDF / 278.62 K
Acrobat Reader software (or similar) may be needed to fill in the PDF form on screen; not all platforms are supported.

You can either fill-in the form in Acrobat and email it to neiljazzsax@outlook.com and send payment via bank transfer (we will give you the bank details when you apply) or print and post the form with a cheque for your fee to Neil Bateman, 32 Kingsfield Avenue, Ipswich, IP1 3TA . Please contact us if you would like to pay in instalments. When you apply, please say whether you'd like either the non-residential or residential option.

Course Fee: Non-residential (including lunch) £TBC. Residential (ensuite room) £TBC. Residential (shared bathroom) £TBC. Partners staying but not on the course £TBC.
For Enquiries: 07798 783574 or neiljazzsax@outlook.com

Spring Jazz Course Sheet Music

Sheet music and the Course Handbook (which contains essential infromation) will be available to download from here. People who are on the course are sent a username and password to download.

Please print off and bring the Course Handbook and all the music for your band plus all the Core Music for your instrument/voice and bring it to the course because we won't be able to photocopy or print it for you.