One day whilst browsing the web I googled the keywords jazz workshop and came up with one not far from where I live. after a couple of e-mails to the organiser I got an invite to join them and last night I attended my first jam with them.
I have to say from the outset that i had a fantastic night. The people were very friendly and of about the same ability as me. There was a nice range of instruments being played with tenor and alto saxophones, clarinets guitars and a trumpet. The rhythm section was good with a very enthusiastic drummer.
We played a good range of standards and I think I improvised well on most. The songs I did struggle with were 'The A train' and 'Blue bossa'. But that is the point of a workshop, learning. There was no pressure to play a solo, it was left up to you and everyone was supportive.
This will be a regular thing for me and I hope that my jazz education will now flourish.