Born and bred in New Orleans and a firm favourite of Harry Connick Jr, trumpet player Leroy Jones has an impressive jazz pedigree and it showed when he brought a taste of The Big Easy to The Apex this week.

A small but enthusiastic audience welcomed the Leroy Jones Quintet to the stage on Monday night where they launched into a set with plenty to please both hardcore jazz fans and music lovers alike. Highlights included a sublimely sleazy (and somewhat apt for a Bury St Edmunds venue in November) rendition of The Sugar Blues, the sultry Basin Street Blues and a cheeky Palm Court Strut during which Jones did indeed shake his butt.

Special guests added to a quality performance with charismatic pianist/singer Joe Stilgoe injecting a hint of swing with a couple of Cole Porter favourites and a joyful Sunny Side of the Street duet with Jones, while singer Ian Shaw provided plenty of ‘scooby-doo-wahs’ for his version of Ain’t Misbehavin’ before delivering a truly soulful What a Wonderful World.

Finally, after the crowd stamped their feet for more, the band and guests joined together for a rousing When the Saints Go Marching In and were rewarded with a standing ovation.

The impressive Leroy Jones was charming up front alongside his jazz trombonist partner Katja Toivola, but special mention must be made of the trio of astonishingly talented musicians behind them: guitarist Dave Archer, bass player Fergus Ireland and drummer Pedro Segundo – those boys have got it goin’ on (as they say in ‘Nawlins’).