Brecon Jazz festival to raise funds for George Melly

This year’s Brecon Jazz festival will hold a concert to raise funds for a memorial to be built in honour of George Melly.
The musician, who died in 2007 at the age of 80, is credited with having put the festival on the global map and performed at the first event in 1984.
Indeed, Melly agreed to sing for free after organisers said they would be unable to pay performers.
A competition to find a memorial was launched last year and £100,000 is needed to pay for the sculpture. The appeal has already raised £32,000, the BBC reports.
Fundraiser David Brockwell told the BBC: “We are very hopeful of reaching our target particularly now that people have seen the designs.”
In total, 51 gigs will be put on across the three-day event and its fringe, which opens tomorrow (August 12th).
It will open with the premiere of Robert Michell 3io’s second album, which blends freeform jazz, odd metre, broken beat, hip-hop and folk.
Friday will also see Clare Teal return to the festival to play tracks from her tenth album, which celebrates the Great British Songbook, including jazz from the 1930s and 40s.
Saturday will see a show celebrating the music of Miles Davis as well as a guitar workshop and a night of music by legendary New Orleans pianist Allen Toussaint.
The festival will close on Sunday with the BBC Big Band Special featuring funk/jazz musician Maceo Parker, as well as a set by jazz singer Mina Agossi.
Mr Brockwell told the BBC that this year’s festival is about community spirit, with many of the fringe festival events being free, performed outside.
“Between the two events (the festival and fringe) there will be between 15,000 to 20,000 people in the town over the weekend,” he said.
“It’s a beautiful town and we hope that people will stay here to get to know it better.”