Take Five

Take Five is Serious’ annual talent development programme dedicated to nurturing the careers of UK based emerging jazz and improvising musicians and composers. Take Five is designed to give the next generation of musical talent the opportunity to take time out to develop their craft, build their careers and get their music out into the world.

Applications for the 21st Edition of Take FIve are now closed - the next round will open in Winter 2026

Equaliser Mentorship Programme

Serious and Black Lives in Music are proud to announce the second year of the Equaliser Mentorship Programme, supporting emerging live sound engineers from Black and global majority backgrounds. Following a successful first year, the programme returns with expanded opportunities across the Barbican, the Royal Albert Hall, and Britten Pears Arts, all offering paid, hands-on experience within their live sound teams.

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

Want to support Take Five? Take Five can only continue to develop the next generation of emerging artists thanks to the generous support of donors. You can donate here or contact alex.green@serious.org.uk to find out more about how you can support the programme

Take Five is produced by Serious, and funded by the PRS Foundation, Arts Council England and Serious Trust. 

In 2025, Take Five celebrated 20 years of welcoming the finest young composers from across the UK’s jazz and improvised music world and offering them mentorship, collaborations and performance opportunities – serving as a pivotal moment in their careers which frequently leads to wider recognition, touring, record deals, and more.

Each year, eight musicians gather for a five-day residency at Cat’s Abbey in the Cotswolds; a unique environment for collaboration, where participants work on each other’s music under the guidance of established musical director, Jason Yarde, and engage in performance coaching and holistic artist development sessions. Serious also match participants with a mentor throughout the programme, offering one to one tailored support to guide their professional music career.   

Participants also attend an online residency hosted by Fusion, featuring bespoke seminars, panel discussions, and workshops featuring some of the most influential industry experts from across the UK, Europe, and further afield to tackle a range of topics based on what the group has expressed interest in through introductory 1-1 sessions.  

Serious also provides the artists with unique, paid performance opportunities at the EFG London Jazz Festival and elsewhere – in particular as part of a “Take Five Showcase.”

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 

Take Five is only possible thanks to the support of our community. Become a Friend or make a donation to ensure an exciting, innovative and representative music scene for years to come.