Shortly after moving into its first venue on Market Street, MSG, almost by accident, began promoting jazz.
The Long Millgate location was an old brick Victorian building with a bar on the ground floor, folk music upstairs, and jazz in its unadorned cellar.
[3] In 1962, shortly after opening the new venue, Jenks appointed Jack Swinnerton as Jazz Organiser.
Henceforth, the MSG began booking internationally known jazz artists,[4] performers who leaned more towards blues and traditional and swing idioms).
[5] In 1964, The Observer stated: "In the Manchester Sports Guild they have the best jazz centre in the country ... "[6] Frank Duffy ran the folk scene, upstairs.