'Wonderbrass' as a South Wales Community Jazz Collective

This chapter examines the structure and practices of Wonderbrass, a community big band based in South Wales. It recounts the history of the band and the challenges of creating the band as an inclusive musical structure in and of itself but also the creation of compositions for the band which themselves act as further ‘inclusive musical structures’ fostering creative participation of members of the band. Research methods include ethnography – interviews with the band yielding data on the experience of participating in the band itself. It examines the strengths and limitations of a project aiming for professional performance standards whilst being built on the principles of inclusiveness and community participation. It uses interviews with participants, and analysis of these, to examine the experience of musical participants through the lens of the participants themselves.