Jazz royalty is set to star at the Bures Music Festival as the event celebrates its 20th birthday this year.

A first-class line-up has been announced including vocalist Emily Dankworth, granddaughter of modern jazz pioneer Sir John Dankworth. A rising star with a heritage that reads like a Who’s Who of jazz, she will feature at the Jazznights Presents evening this Thursday. Her grandmother is also celebrated vocalist Dame Cleo Laine and her father is distinguished bassist Alec Dankworth.

The Jazznights evening, staged in St Mary’s Church, Bures, will also feature award-winning guitarist Nicolas Meier who has carved out a reputation for fusing a unique sound from his love of flamenco, tango, Turkish and Eastern music. The night will continue with sought-after vocalist Larraine Odell who performs with the Jazznights Trio.

Bures Music Festival has had jazz had its heart since 1997 when it launched on to the East Anglian music scene as ‘Jazz by the Stour’. Founded by the late local journalist and jazz lover Alan Crumpton, the festival has attracted a rollcall of leading talent from Dana Gillespie to The Tom Collins Band.

In recent years, it has expanded to run over five days with an eclectic music mix which runs the gamut from blues and rock, to pop and choral with the successful jazz night carrying on Crumpton’s legacy. The festival donates all its profits to local charities including St Nicholas and St Helena hopsices, plus smaller groups such as Ferriers Barn in Bures.

Tickets for the event, which runs from tomorrow until Sunday, are available from Compact Music in Sudbury, the pubs and post office in Bures, or online at www.buresmusicfestival.com