Award-winning clarinettist Julian Bliss will bring The Julian Bliss Septet to the Festival, to take you on a trip through some of the great tunes of the swing era, focusing on the work of the great Benny Goodman. Like Julian, Goodman began playing the clarinet from a young age and was performing on stage by the age of twelve.

Performing some of Benny Goodman’s best-known tunes, Julian will talk you through the music, sharing anecdotes and stories about Goodman’s life with a characteristic dose of tongue-in-cheek humour. Expect favourites such as: Lady Be Good (Rifftide), Georgia Brown, Sing Sing Sing, Don’t be that Way, Stompin’ at the Savoy and Memories of You.

"Bliss is capable of swinging mightily and adapting his formidable technique to the task at hand." The Jazz Times