Tony Dudley-Evans

Who is Tony Dudley-Evans?

Tony Dudley-Evans is Jazz Adviser to the Jazzlines programme at Town Hall/Symphony Hall Birmingham and Programme Adviser to the Cheltenham Jazz Festival.

He now sees himself as a jazz promoter, but he was for many years a British linguist and expert in English for Specific Purposes. One of the most influential authors in the development of the modern notion of genre, he is usually grouped together with John Swales and Vijay Bhatia as the driving force behind recent developments in ESP.

Tony Dudley-Evans was educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham. Having gained a BA in Arabic, a PGCE in teaching English as a Foreign Language and an MA in Applied English Linguistic, Tony pursued a career as a researcher and lecturer until his retirement in 2001. Among his best-known books are Developments in English for Specific Purposes, authored with Maggie Jo St John, and The Language of Economics, co-edited with economist Willie Henderson.

Despite the demands of his 'day-job', he was from 1985, chair of Birmingham Jazz, an organisation which promoted up to 100 concerts a year at Symphony Hall, the CBSO Centre, the Adrian Boult Hall, mac, The Drum, the Fiddle and Bone and the Glee Club. In Birmingham alone he has promoted around 1000 jazz events since 1985. A popular promotion is the weekly free Friday evening session, now known as the Jazzlines Free Gigs, held in Symphony Hall Café Bar showcasing emerging and established jazz musicians to regular audiences of hundreds.