Society Spotlight

By Annabel Bienfait, Community Editor

This month, we got in touch with Bristol’s Jazz Funk Soul (JFS) Society. JFS have established themselves as the go-to for top quality jazz gigs and workshops for students in Bristol. They showcase incredible student talent at their weekly jam nights, while drawing big names in jazz, such as Ezra Collective, Zeñel, Cesca and Snazzback, to play every fortnight. Their society is open to all students, from all musical backgrounds and abilities. Here’s what Vice President, Isobel, shared about the society:

How would you describe JFS in a few words?

JazzFunkSoul society plays every Tuesday at Mr Wolfs. Every week we run open jams where you can join us on stage, and every other week we also invite some of the coolest jazz and funk bands from Bristol and London to perform for us. We also run the occasional workshop with professional musicians to help our members develop their skills, and our committee performs at several of our own gigs throughout the year.

What happens at a JFS jam?

A typical night with JFS features a:

Rhythm section - Keys, Drums, Bass, Guitar (and double bass or other alternatives if we’re feeling crazy!)
Frontline - typically horns, saxophone, trumpet, trombone (but we welcome jazz clarinetists/flautists too)
Singers - we welcome any voice type

Find a committee member (with a committee t-shirt on) and we will help you get on stage for a jam! We welcome people of all abilities - singers are more than welcome too. If you're not comfortable with playing something you haven't heard before, come along with a song suggestion and we'll be happy to play it (have a look at our public playlists to listen to some of our favourite tunes).

What kind of music do you play at the jams? Any favourites?

Our repertoire ranges from jazz standards, such as Blue Bossa and Nardis, to funk tunes and soul numbers, such as Ain’t No Sunshine, Superstition and On My Mind. We love playing new stuff as much as we can, but there are always classics we come back to every week.

What are your favourite memories of performing with JFS?

Whenever we get to perform in a public concert setting. Last year this included gigs run by Big Band Society: Clusterfunk, Tub Thumpers and Sax and the City (there'll be many more to come this year!). Additionally, some of our best JFS experiences have to be watching the incredible bands we've had play in recent years - Hungry Hungry Hippos and Howell's Grooving Castle spring to mind!

Looking to the future, do you have any exciting events coming up?

We're very excited about the acts we've booked for this year - there's amazing talent and some pretty big names coming up, so make sure to look out for that on our Instagram! We've also got great workshops planned with some of Bristol's most experienced music educators, and potential plans for our own festival at a large venue (watch this space)!

'JFS Jam at Mr Wolfs' | Epigram / *Annabel Bienfait*

What’s on?

JFS runs weekly jam sessions at Mr Wolfs every Tuesday, from 9pm-12am. Entry is free before 10pm, and only £3 after. Everyone is welcome to attend, so come along to jam, dance and make the most of Mr Wolfs’ student drink deals. And the night doesn’t end at midnight- stick around for the DJ set, playing every week until late.

Every other week, JFS invites top-class bands and musicians to perform at the end of the open jam (from 11pm onwards). Entry costs £4 if you buy your ticket in advance, and £5 on the door.