Birmingham, UK 2027
Thursday 8 – Sunday 11 April 2027
The tenth Rhythm Changes conference will take place at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (RBC), UK, from 8 to 11 April 2027. This four-day multidisciplinary conference features keynotes, academic papers, and panels, and brings together researchers, writers, musicians, critics, and others interested in jazz studies from around the world.
For our tenth conference, we have an open call for papers addressing the meaning and significance of jazz from multiple academic perspectives, including cultural studies, musicology, cultural theory, music analysis, jazz history, media studies, and practice-based research. What are you working on now? What are your thoughts? Bring them, share them with us.
We particularly welcome proposals from under-represented groups and communities in jazz studies and academia more generally, including people of colour, those who identify as women or gender diverse, and people with disabilities. Our call is open.
Further information
Please submit your proposal (max. 250 words), including a short biography (max. 50 words) and institutional / organisational affiliation (if any), as a Word document to Nicholas Gebhardt and Tony Whyton (Conference directors): rhythmchanges2027@bcu.ac.uk. Papers are 20 minutes long (plus a 5-minute Q&A); panels contain three papers. We also welcome panel proposals of three or four presenters. If you have a format that doesn’t fit these conventions, talk to us: if we can accommodate it, we will.
The deadline for proposals is 15 September 2026; we will communicate outcomes to authors by 31 October 2026. The conference committee comprises Christa Bruckner-Haring, Juliane Deil, Nicholas Gebhardt, George McKay, Beatriz Nunes, Sarah Raine, Loes Rusch, Walter van de Leur and Tony Whyton.
Rhythm Changes TEN is hosted by the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, part of Birmingham City University. RBC is the UK’s most recently established purpose-built conservatoire building, opened in 2017, with a dedicated jazz club and a 440-seat concert hall. RBC also hosts the annual Eastside Jazz Festival, which was first held in 2026.
Rhythm Changes TEN continues to build on the legacy of the research project Rhythm Changes: Jazz Cultures and European Identities (2010– 2013), funded as part of the Humanities in the European Research Area (HERA) Joint Research Programme. In the spirit of Rhythm Changes, the project team continues to develop networking opportunities and champion collaborative research in transnational jazz studies.
Updates on the conference will be available on the Rhythm Changes website and Facebook.