Synopsis
Secret Jazz Diaries is a genre-bending comedy series mixing narrative storytelling, animated sequences, surreal humour, and high-level musical performances. Louis Horne — once a child star, now a self-proclaimed “manstar” — guides you through the bizarre music underworld of London as he attempts to redeem his career, sanity, and reputation.
Background
Secret Jazz Diaries was created by two of the UK’s top jazz personalities, Andy Davies & Nathan Britton who began filming comedy sketches based on their achingly embarrassing experiences working as professional musicians in London. A bizarre protagonist called Louis Horne was born and became an instant hit amongst musicians from the London Jazz scene.
The project began to build a wider cult following organically through the release of their independently produced short mockumentary film, “The Return of Louis Horne” (2018), which travelled internationally and received multiple film awards (Best Dramedy @ London Independent Film Awards 2018, Best International Director @ Georgia Short Film Festival 2019, Finalist of Best Comedy Short @ Atlanta Comedy Film Festival 2018, Highest commendation @ London Worldwide Comedy Short Festival 2019). The short film has recently been made publicly available to view on Youtube.
Development
Following the success of the short film, the duo continued to build the project’s IP through various mediums, developing a comprehensive alternate reality full of strange characters, where bebop and brawling go hand-in-hand…
Their growing collection of audio stories, narrated by our hapless hero, Louis Horne, tell stand-alone tales from his bizarre London adventures. These 10-minute episodes consistently hit the Apple’s Top 40 comedy podcasts in the UK, Australia and Ireland.
Animation
The latest development in the project was the creation of a 5-minute adult cartoon taster, based on the audio podcast stories. The creators wanted to stay true to their vision to create a slightly surreal and fantasy world and this format allows them to do just that.
What’s Next?
Currently, we are working on developing a hybrid format for a series and exploring partnership and funding opportunities to bring the project to the next level. If you would like to find out more or collaborate with us then please get in touch!