The legendary British Beat poet Michael Horovitz is marking his 80th birthday next month with three “jazz poetry superjams” on successive nights with jazz and poetry friends.

Horovitz will be performing at a three-night residency at The Pheasantry at Pizza Express on Kings Road, Chelsea on 4-6 April, with Roger McGough, Annie Whitehead, John Hegley, Clark Tracey, Gwyneth Herbert, Bobby Wellins, Molly Parkin, Steven Berkoff, Jennifer Maidman, Peter Lemer, Alec Dankworth, Alexander Hawkins, Vanessa Vie, Adam Horovitz and the William Blake Klezmatrix band. More details. Booking details here for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

In 1959 Horovitz founded New Departures, an irregular periodical that published Samuel Beckett and William Burroughs. He was involved in organising in 1965 the First International Poetry Incarnation at the Royal Albert Hall – the single largest poetry event ever in Britain - and edited the bestselling 1960s Penguin anthology, Children of Albion.  Horovitz also founded the Poetry Olympics, an ongoing live poetry event that has included performances from Patti Smith, Pete Townshend, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Kylie Minogue, Paul Weller and Damon Albarn.

Background: Looking back at 1960s poetry 'incarnation' at Albert Hall