Jazz Preview: Hall gears up for three days of entertainment

Beginning tonight, there will be three days of jazz and blues in the grounds of an elegant Elizabethan hall, in the Wolds, near Driffield. This is the fourth festival there, and Simon Cunliffe-Lister, who organises the event with singer Saffron Byass, believes it will be the most successful so far.

"It takes two or three years for a thing like this to get established, and this year all the signs are good," said Simon, an accomplished saxophonist who is owner and custodian of the hall, which is his ancestral home.

After this evening's opening contributions by 5 Pieces of Silver, led by pianist Zezo Olimpio, and Bass Man Family, the festival resumes tomorrow afternoon with a line-up which includes Anita Wardell, a singer with a sublime sense of adventure, the Al Wood Big Band, and trombonist Dennis Rollins leading his Velocity Trio.

Sunday boasts Yorkshire's Clare Teal, whose voice matches her smile, and Cuban violinist Omar Puente alongside pianist Robert Mitchell. Cunliffe-Lister and Byass ring down the curtain on their festival with Safari.

The main acts are on the hall's majestic lawn.

Today and tomorrow there are late-night folk and blues sessions in the festival beer tent – try the local Wold Top brew – run in conjunction with the Beverley Arts Trust.

It all amounts to impressive proof that Burton Agnes is not only ideal for gardeners' and Michaelmas fairs, Easter egg hunts and snowdrop openings. It makes an alluring setting for a jazz festival as well.

Full details are on www.burtonagnes.com and 01262 490324.