It is with some justification that Birmingham can lay claim to the title Jazz City UK, not least because of its remarkable annual jazz festival. This is a strange form of madness where several hundred jazz musicians from all over the world descend on the City to play their part in the more than 200 free performances that seemingly take over every corner of the city. As one city councillor claims, or should that be complains, the sounds of jazz seem to be coming from around every street corner. This has been going on for nigh on 34 years, with no sign of it letting up.Originally conceived at the specific request, actually persistence is an appropriate word, of Humphrey Lyttelton, who served as Festival Patron for the first 25, with that role now occupied by Digby Fairweather.