Our Story
Manchester is steeped in Jazz history…great musicians would come from all over the world to play here in the 50s and 60s, during the hey days of Jazz.
There were two venues that were favoured most by the performers…
The Free Trade Hall; which would play host to the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Louie Armstrong, Woody Herman, Count Basie, Miles Davis, and Billie Holiday – these were not just some of the greatest names in jazz, they were the jazz elite!
Then there was…Club43. Created by a man named Eric Scriven, and due to late night licence laws, it was the place to go when you wanted to see great jazz musicians jamming together in a more intimate venue. Often after performing here at the FTH, the backing musicians and even some of the big names would head over to the Club, sometimes just for a late night drink and sometimes to join in and jam with that night’s headliner or house band. Imagine a smoky night club, people crammed elbow to elbow, musicians and audience members alike, watching performers such as Sonny Rollins, Tubby Hayes and Ronnie Scott just to name a few, jam like only they could.
Now the Manchester jazz scene is being honoured by the recreation of Club43 as a Supper Club on the site of the Free Trade Hall, combining the two historic venues in one homage. On the last Sunday of every month we put on a Jazz Night and serve a buffet created specially for the evening by our chef. Accenting a great night of music in a restaurant with the perfect ambience.
Sadly at the end of 2016 new management decided that due to a change in direction of the hotel and its restaurants, that we would no longer hold Jazz nights at the FTH. After a pretty successful 5 years it seems a shame, because live bands in restaurants and small venues nowadays is getting rarer and rarer, and it especially is a blow to supporting the Jazz scene in Manchester. Maybe one day we will be back. Which is why we ‘hopefully’ keep the page with it’s connections alive.
