Oxford University Jazz Society
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The Oxford University Jazz Society is the focus of jazz music at the University of Oxford, England. Formerly it was known as the Oxford University Jazz Club. The columnist and bass player Miles Kington, then a trombonist, was a member of the Jazz Club at the beginning of the 1960s. In the 1970s, the club organized weekly gigs in the first floor of the former Roebuck public house in Market Street, central Oxford, presenting well-known British jazz musicians such as Lol Coxhill and Oxford-based jazz bands including the Oxcentrics, fronted by Adrian Sheen and Mike Southon.
After a period of inactivity in the 1980s, it was reformed as the Jazz Society in 1994 and is colloquially known as "JazzSoc". Between 1994 and '97 it hosted a weekly jam session at Po Na Na on St Giles; from '97 to 2002 the session was at the Wheatsheaf pub on the high street, where the jam session regularly attracted an audience of up to 100 students. Since 2002 JazzSoc has returned to its original home at the Roebuck, now known as the 'Market Tavern'.
In addition to a weekly jam session in term time, JazzSoc presents a 'spectacular' once a term, featuring a 'name' jazz act, playing either with their own band or with a local rhythm section. Past spectaculars have featured Soweto Kinch, Julian Arguelles, and Jim Mullen.
