Take Five

The Take Five initiative is aimed at British and UK based composer-performers and is designed to give some of the UK’s most talented emerging creative jazz musicians the opportunity to take time out to develop their craft, build their careers and get their music out into the world.

Take Five is an annual talent development programme for emerging jazz and improvising musicians/composers produced by Serious, and funded by the PRS Foundation, Help Musicians, Arts Council England, and Serious Trust.

Inaugurated in 2005, the programme welcomes eight of the finest young composers from across the United Kingdom’s jazz and improvised music worlds each year and offers them mentorship, collaborations, performance opportunities, and funding – serving as a pivotal moment in their careers and has frequently led to wider recognition, touring, record deals, and more.

The scheme centres around a week-long residency that brings the artists together with music industry experts, giving them a chance to learn about the complexities of the business in an intimate setting, and offering them the chance to take some time out from their usual busy touring/recording schedules and step back and think about how to advance their music and careers. They also get to collaborate on a series of pieces that each of them arranges for the entire group, directed by the esteemed composer and saxophonist Jason Yarde.

Following the residency, the artists continue to receive tailored mentorship from members of Serious’ experienced staff as well as receiving funding towards further mentorship from other music industry professionals. Serious also provides the artists with performance opportunities at the EFG London Jazz Festival and elsewhere – in particular as part of a “Take Five Showcase” which will be launched at the 2020 edition of the festival.

The programme’s alumni list reads as a who’s who of the British jazz scene ranging from Polar Bear’s Seb Rochford (who took part in the very first edition) to Sons of Kemet and The Comet is Coming’s Shabaka Hutchings, British/Bahraini trumpeter Yazz Ahmed to rising star Nubya Garcia, as well as musicians from outside the traditional jazz idiom but with a foot firmly in improvisation such as electronic musician Leafcutter John, conductor and arranger Jules Buckley, and Korean flautist Hyelim Kim. You can see every participant by clicking here.

To be considered for the scheme, artists must be between the ages of 25-35 or have been working as a professional musician for at least five years, be primarily based in the United Kingdom (but do not need to a UK national), be leading their own band and/or composing their own music, and demonstrate exceptional talent and future potential. Previous artists could only apply upon being nominated by one of Serious’ trusted industry contact, but since 2019 we have also introduced an open “Expression of Interest” system, allowing any eligible artist to put themselves forward for the scheme.

If you have any enquiries about the scheme, please get in touch via our Contact Form.

Find out about how you can support our talent development programmes here.

Take Five covered all those areas of the business that are usually passed down in a shadowy, vague, oral way, from musician to musician. But by getting the information directly from people obviously at the top of their fields, it meant that each area was thoroughly explored. Having heard it straight from the horse’s mouth, I came away feeling like I know what the whole deal is.
Shabaka Hutchings, Edition VI - 2010

I have never before received so much support and encouragement and now think in a completely different way since gathering new skills in how to promote and manage my work, thanks to the guest speakers and tutors. I have been inspired to take more risks, and most importantly, I've found a new confidence in myself as an artist. With this new wave of optimism, I have begun new collaborations, created new opportunities, and am in near completion of my second album - a project I wouldn't have pursued if it weren't for Serious.
Yazz Ahmed, Edition VIII - 2013

Serious and Take Five have been so crucial in connecting me with those that can impart incredible musical knowledge and lend a hand in understanding all other aspects that make being on stage possible. All the while having a chance to sculpt a unique voice to show on some fantastic platforms.
Abel Selaocoe, Edition XIV - 2019

Media releases and articles

Take Five Edition xv 2020 Press Release: PDF 6.79MB
Take Five Edition xiv Press Release: PDF 500.79KB
Take Five Edition xiii Press Release: PDF 551.03KB
Take Five xii by Hilary Robertson: PDF 362.33KB
Take Five Edition xii Press release: PDF 536.01KB
Take Five Media Release Edition XI: PDF 545.12KB
Take Five UK Edition X by Ian Patterson: PDF 360.45KB
Take Five Media Release Edition X FINAL 12 11 2014: PDF 367.51KB
Take Five Edition IX Essay by Mike Collins 2014: PDF 335.47KB
Edition IX Media Release: PDF 441.56KB
Appendix D Take Five Edition VIII by Marcus O: PDF 192.97KB
Take Five Edition viii Press Release: PDF 486.3KB
Take five edition vii article kevin le gendre final: PDF 122.36KB
Take five media release edition vii final1: PDF 196.83KB
Take five final draft chris ackerley as at jan 2011: PDF 117.74KB
Take Five Edition vi Press Release: PDF 395.61KB
Take five edition v article by daniel spicer1: PDF 97.37KB
Take five edition v media release1: PDF 161.15KB
Take five edition iv article by dan spicer1: PDF 103.58KB
Take five edition iv media release1: PDF 149.39KB
Take five edition iii article by daniel spicer1: PDF 101.2KB
Take five edition iii media release1: PDF 148.83KB
Take five edition ii article by john fordham1: PDF 97.78KB
Take five edition ii media release1: PDF 112.42KB
Take five edition i article by jane cornwall1: PDF 91.16KB
Take five edition i media release1: PDF 111.8KB