Jazz has been on at The Priory, Nanpantan, Loughborough, in the East Midlands every week for about 20 years. Originally it was on a Friday evening and was free entry, being supported financially by the pub..

In order to be able to book more and better bands, some travelling up to 100miles; it was decided to charge on the door, as now. The Priory did allow us to use the room free of charge but from November 2007 we have had to pay for its use, consequently the admission charge had to be increased to £6. The bands are paid out of the door take and a raffle, with a small sum taken out for use of the room, adverts, posters and information leaflets.

About 3 years ago The Priory asked us to change to a Thursday evening, which initially resulted in a drop in attendance, but jazzers have now adjusted to the change. The Jazz club is run by a small group of volunteers.

Most bands booked are traditional, dixieland or New Orleans style bands but some mix this with swing or mainstream numbers for an interesting variety. We have about 20 bands which we book each year but we like to try new bands that are recommended to us also.

At times, we are able to book bands from abroad while they are on tour in Britain; such as The Bla Mandag band from Denmark and The Spicy Advice Jazz Band from Sweden. International jazz violinist, Tim Kliphuis from Holland, made his second visit to The Priory in September 2007, with his Hot Club of France style tribute to Stephane Grappelli.