South London Jazz Orchestra is a diverse group of talented musicians. Our aim is to share our love of Big Band jazz with the community, help raise money for charity, and have as much fun as possible while doing so.
SLJO is part of South London Community Music, alongside concert band South London Symphonic Winds and video game music band, the Geeky Beats Big Band.
We are based in Brixton and play over thirty gigs a year all around London and further afield.
You will find us at the London Marathon, on the bandstands in Royal Parks – Hyde Park, Regents Park, Greenwich Park – as well as local favourite Ruskin Park. We love a good party. SLJO regularly plays the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Brighton Fringe Festival, and at pubs in and around Brixton. We’ve entertained both beer festivals and neighbourhood fetes. In past years, we have toured Europe, going to Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Spain.
In 2022 we toured to Guernsey. In both 2023 and 2024, we also ventured north to Scotland, taking part in the Edinburgh Fringe festival. In 2025, we also took a trip to Valencia.
SLJO also performs at private functions such as weddings, birthday parties and award ceremonies. A SLJO ensemble is tailored to the event and size of the venue. Our “mini-SLJO” series of smaller ensembles has been a hit in pubs and jazz clubs around London. Recent appearances have been at Toulouse Lautrec Jazz Club in Kennington, the Railway Tavern in Tulse Hill, the Crystal Palace Beer Festival and we’ve also made our debut at PizzaExpress Jazz Club in Soho!
If you’d like to book us for an event, please complete our online form or send us an email at info@sljo.org.uk
If you are an active musician, or a comeback player, looking for a Big Band to join, let us know by completing our online membership form. You can also visit our rehearsals page to find out about our repertoire, rehearsal location, times and more. We operate a no-auditions policy and just require that you are at the standard of grade 5 or above.
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