Fizzle Birmingham

Fizzle Birmingham Freely improvised & experimental music promoters based in Birmingham

Fizzle is an organisation that has been putting on freely improvised and experimental music performances in Birmingham, UK for over 20 years. We currently work with partner organisation TDE Promotions (run by veteran jazz promoter Tony Dudley-Evans) to put on gigs in various venues around the West Midlands. The UK has a strong history of freely improvised music led by pioneering musicians like Derek Bailey and Evan Parker. At Fizzle we want to promote the continuing vibrancy of this legacy as well as championing new and exciting developments in experimental music. This means that we work regularly with internationally renowned improvisers like Paul Dunmall and Mark Sanders, host touring acts from the UK and Europe, and support both emerging and established local musicians.

FREE IMPROV JAMhosted by CHARLOTTE KEEFFE1:30pm, Sun 6 SepCentralaTo celebrate the launch of our 2026/27 programme, Fizz...
30/08/2026

FREE IMPROV JAM
hosted by CHARLOTTE KEEFFE
1:30pm, Sun 6 Sep
Centrala

To celebrate the launch of our 2026/27 programme, Fizzle are hosting their first ever Free Improv Jam Session, hosted by the brilliant Charlotte Keeffe. Due to unavoidable circumstances, we regret that Mike Gennaro can no longer make the journey to the UK.

Charlotte Keeffe wears her love for music-making ~ especially freely improvising ~ on her sleeve. Whether performing as a solo artist, with her Sound Brushes (trumpets), or leading adventurous ensembles like her RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW (RHRN), she creates bold, expressive spaces for sonic exploration and individual freedom. Creative Freedom For All. Inspired by abstract painters, she refers to her trumpets as Sound Brushes, approaching each performance as a living, dynamic canvas for spontaneous creation.

Bring your instruments, or simply sit back and enjoy a feast of the Midland’s finest improvisers.

Doors @ 1:15pm; Duration ~2h

Tickets: £10.5 (£5.5 stu. / freelance musician)
Free entry for anyone participating in the jam (please still book!)
Available from our website, or on the door.

With thanks to Arts Council England for their support.

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◼◾ AUTUMN 2026◾◼We're excited to finally be able to share our full listings for the remainder of 2026! We have a host of...
29/08/2026

◼◾ AUTUMN 2026◾◼

We're excited to finally be able to share our full listings for the remainder of 2026! We have a host of amazing musicians lined up, including a selection of gigs dedicated to legendary saxophonist John Coltrane's 100th birthday.

Be sure to visit our website for more information on what's coming up, and to buy tickets.

With thanks to Arts Council England for their support.

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FULL-TIME MUSICIAN DISCOUNTNOW AVAILABLE!We’re thrilled to announce we’ll be offering a discount ticket rate for full-ti...
31/07/2026

FULL-TIME MUSICIAN DISCOUNT
NOW AVAILABLE!

We’re thrilled to announce we’ll be offering a discount ticket rate for full-time musicians at all of our Centrala gigs!

We recognise that being a full-time musician often means a fluctuating income throughout the year, which can create a financial barrier to attending live music outside of work.

Our new Full-time Musician discount is available to any freelancers who earn the majority of their income through music. We hope this makes Fizzle more accessible to artists working in and contributing to the Birmingham scene and beyond.

With thanks to Arts Council England for their support.

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BIRMINGHAM IMPROVISERS ORCHESTRA2pm, Sun 28 JunCentralaFor our final concert of the season, we're very excited to welcom...
22/06/2026

BIRMINGHAM IMPROVISERS ORCHESTRA
2pm, Sun 28 Jun
Centrala

For our final concert of the season, we're very excited to welcome back the Birmingham Improvisers Orchestra (BIO), a large improvising ensemble open to any musicians in the Midlands and further afield interested in free improvisation and related musics.

Over the years, they have performed at a number of likely and unlikely venues and events, using a variety of approaches to collective, large-group improvisation. In this current phase of their activity, BIO have been concentrating on both spontaneous and directed improvisations, without any pre-planned or written music. For the past 6 months, they have been running a series of open workshops and performances which have brought new members into the fold. This month’s Centrala gig will serve as a further exploration into improvised music-making with those new musicians, as well as long-standing BIO members.

PLEASE NOTE: this concert will be upstairs at Centrala, with no lift access.

Doors @ 1:45pm; Duration ~2h

Tickets: £10.5 (£5.5 stu.)
Available from our website, or on the door (cash preferred).

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LUFT / ANDERSEN / SOMMER8pm, Fri 12 JunHexagon; macArild Andersen has been at the forefront of Norwegian and European ja...
09/06/2026

LUFT / ANDERSEN / SOMMER
8pm, Fri 12 Jun
Hexagon; mac

Arild Andersen has been at the forefront of Norwegian and European jazz for over 30 years and is a major recording artist on the prestigious ECM label. This trio with rising stars Daniel Sommer (drums) and Rob Luft (guitar) is an expansive and playful exploration of songs and collective improvisation.

They will be performing music from their 2024 album ‘As Times Passes’ (April Records). Rendered in the stark beauty of Andersen's bass lines, the nuanced strokes of Sommer's drums, and capped with the lush, expansive timbres of Luft's guitar, this album is a testament to the enduring and ever-evolving wonder of Jazz.

Tickets: from £11.95
Student discount: enter code TDESTUDENT at checkout
Available from our website.

This concert will last approximately 2 hours.

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HANS KOLLER SEXTET8pm; Fri 5 JunHexagon; macThis sensational new project led by pianist/composer Hans Koller is an inter...
02/06/2026

HANS KOLLER SEXTET
8pm; Fri 5 Jun
Hexagon; mac

This sensational new project led by pianist/composer Hans Koller is an intergenerational supergroup, featuring four brilliant rising stars on the UK jazz scene - Swedish vocalist Rebecka Edlund, bass player Tom Sheen, drummer Sacha Harlan and Hans' teenage son Louis Koller on trombone. The sextet is completed by the dynamic American saxophonist John O'Gallagher, and Hans himself.

Tickets: from £11.95
Student discount: enter code TDESTUDENT at checkout
Available from our website

This concert will last approximately 2 hours.

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CATH ROBERTS / OLIE BRICE+ ALEX WARD / JOHN EDWARDS / MIKE GENNARO2pm; Sun 31 MayCentralaCath Roberts and Olie Brice hav...
27/05/2026

CATH ROBERTS / OLIE BRICE
+ ALEX WARD / JOHN EDWARDS / MIKE GENNARO
2pm; Sun 31 May
Centrala

Cath Roberts and Olie Brice have worked together in various groups including Olie's Octet and the collaborative group 'Spinningwork'. During lockdown they experimented with collaborating online (using the software JackTrip) which led to their debut duo album 'Conduits' - recorded simultaneously in London and Hastings.

Now that such things are unnecessary their 2nd album 'Setpieces' was recorded in one room and comes out on Relative Pitch in April 2026. Improvised sax/bass duos combining skronky noise, free jazz counterpoint, timbral explorations and much more…

The trio of Toronto-based drummer Mike Gennaro and UK improvisers John Edwards (bass) and Alex Ward (clarinet and guitar) first played together in 2023, in a meeting subsequently released as their debut CD “ACTIVITY” (Copepod Records POD20). They have gone on to tour in the UK, Germany and Poland, and are set to release their second album in mid-2026.

Doors @ 1:45pm; Duration ~2h

Tickets: £10.5 (£5.5 stu.)
Available from our website, or on the door.

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LET SPIN8pm, Thu 16 AprHexagon; macLet Spin are a cutting edge post-jazz quartet comprised of players at the forefront ...
09/04/2026

LET SPIN
8pm, Thu 16 Apr
Hexagon; mac

Let Spin are a cutting edge post-jazz quartet comprised of players at the forefront of the vibrant UK contemporary music scene. Their incendiary live shows conjure a mean mix of musical styles with a focus on improvisation for exploring new ground. ‘I am Alien’, the band’s latest and strongest record to date, captures the chemistry and curiosity of a band that lives for adventure.

The band comprises guitarist Moss Freed (Union Division; Spike Orchestra), saxophonist Chris Williams (Led Bib; Sarathy Korwar), bassist Ruth Goller (Skylla; Melt Yourself Down) & drummer Finlay Panter (Beats & Pieces Big Band).

“Boisterous punk jazz at its best” Jazzwise

This concert will last approximately 2 hours.

Tickets: from £11.95
Student discount: enter code TDESTUDENT at checkout
Available from our website.

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Let Spin are coming to the mac next week!
07/04/2026

Let Spin are coming to the mac next week!

We've had a jam-packed first quarter of 2026! As we prepare for the rest of the season, we're having a look back at the ...
07/04/2026

We've had a jam-packed first quarter of 2026! As we prepare for the rest of the season, we're having a look back at the Fizzle + TDE gigs so far this year.

As many of you know, we're having continued issues with funding this year. We are so incredibly grateful for all the support we're received through donations as well as attending our concerts, we couldn't continue our programme without you!

Tickets for our upcoming gigs are available through our website. We can't wait to bring you more incredible music from all over the world - we're looking forward to seeing you soon!

The Fizzle + TDE team

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