News in brief...
The 1919 UK visit of the Southern Syncopated Orchestra figures in Syncopated, a new ACE- and lottery-funded play that “explores the echoes of Black migration and culture in Britain”.
In a promotional wheeze, ticket agency SeatPick has scraped Reddit posts to rank jazz followers the fourth happiest among music fans, rebutting the received wisdom that they’re all grumpy old men.
The Daily Telegraph says new free-speech legislation comes too late for saxophonist Martin Speake, who is claiming constructive dismissal after contesting Trinity Laban’s embrace of critical race theory.
Vibist Joe Locke plays with organist Peter Johnstone’s band at Watermill, Dorking (8 July); 606 Club, London (9); Zeffirellis, Ambleside (10) and St Bride’s, Edinburgh (11).