There will be over 50 talks and concerts during the three-day period, as well as a number of free family events – including a Jazz Carnival parade through the streets of Brecon on Saturday morning, in aid of Usk House Hospice; and a special Jazz Service at the Cathedral on Sunday.

The festival will run in five fantastic venues across the town – Theatr Brycheiniog, the Big Tent on Captain’s Walk, the newly-accessed Market Hall, the Castle Hotel and Brecon Cathedral – and tickets will range in price from £5 to £15.

Selected highlights are below:

Friday 7th August

Art Themen, Julian Marc Stringle, Bruce Adams Sextet – 6.30pm, Theatr Brycheiniog, £5
Opening the festival on Friday evening at Theatr Brycheiniog is a stellar line-up put together specially for this year’s Brecon Jazz Festival, featuring Art Themen on saxophone, Julian Marc Stringle on clarinet and Bruce Adams on trumpet, with Leon Greening on piano, Chris Dodd on bass and Mike Bradley on Drums.

Stan Tracey Octet – 7.30pm, Captain’s Walk, £8
The great pianist and ‘godfather of British jazz’ presents his new Octet performing pieces from some of his commissioned suites. Featuring Stan Tracey, Guy Barker, Mark Nightingale, Sam Mayne, Simon Allen, Mornington Lockett, Andrew Cleyndert and Clark Tracey.

John Etheridge’s Sweet Chorus – 7.30pm, Cathedral, £10
Now celebrating its 10th year, the band features John Etheridge’s dazzling guitar work and violin of Chris Garrick. The relationship between these two has been described as one of the most potent in European jazz and is backed up by the propulsive drive of Kelbie and Crowdy to produce breathtaking sallies through repertoire both classic and contemporary.

Empirical with Kevin LeGendre – Tribute to Cannonball Adderley – 8.45pm, Theatr Brycheiniog, £10
A special presentation celebrating the fascinating life of saxophonist Cannonball Adderley on the 50th anniversary of Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue (the defining jazz album on which he played). Kevin LeGendre illuminates the life and work of this brilliant saxophonist with archive film and audio footage. Not only a member of one of Miles Davis’ most revered bands and bandleader in his own right, Cannonball’s work with black civil rights activist Jesse Jackson has a topical poignancy at the start of Barak Obama’s presidency.

Seth Lakeman – 9.30pm, Market Hall, £10
The virtuoso fiddle player and superstar of British Folk opens the Market Hall programme with his band, in a concert co-presented with Brecon Fringe. He combines the haunting lyrical brilliance of his Folk roots with spectacular instrumental brilliance that is often compared to Hendrix. The band marauds across folk/rock/jazz borders with ease and joy, and are mesmerising live performers.

Sarah Jane Morris – Where It Hurts – 11pm, Theatr Brycheiniog, £10
Brecon Jazz is delighted to launch the 50th birthday album of new jazz songs by Sarah Jane Morris. Famed for her association with the Communards in the mid-80s and infamous for a banned rendition of the classic Me and Mrs Jones, Sarah Jane Morris has always attracted as much attention for her politics as for her soul-driven, seismic voice. Where It Hurts has been co-written and co-produced by Sarah Jane with Dominic Miller (Sting’s right-hand man) and Martyn Baker.

Saturday 8th August

Art Themen plays the John Coltrane Songbook – 12.10pm, Cathedral, £5
Art Themen was involved in the traditional jazz scene in Manchester in the late 1950s and was a member of the award-winning Cambridge University jazz band from 1958-1961. He has played alongside Alexis Kormer, Mick Jagger and Chuck Berry and has recorded with many US and British luminaries. He will be accompanied at the Cathedral by Robin Aspland on piano, Paul Morgan on bass and Martin Dew on Drums.

Dennis Rollins – Griots to Garage – 2.30pm, Market Hall, £10
The rising superstar trombonist introduces his new show, taking the audience through an historical musical journey, inspired by the African Diaspora, starting with the long-established traditional cultures of 16th century West Africa and documenting the path of peoples and time through music of African origin. The music is complemented by the artistry of Vijay artist Nick Hillel, whose mixing of imagery with live performance intensifies the emotional impact of this powerful story of tragedy and transcendence.

Abdullah Ibrahim Solo – 5pm, Market Hall, £15
Born in South Africa, the legendary pianist began his musical career 60 years ago under the name Dollar Brand. Discovered by the legendary Duke Ellington, he moved to America, where he also worked with Thelonius Monk, John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman. This solo concert will include songs from his latest album, Senzo.

Courtney Pine – Transition in Tradition – 7.30pm, Market Hall, £15
This great Brecon favourite was made a CBE this year, and returns with his new project on Saturday evening. BBC Music Magazine recently described Pine’s work as “a creole gumbo of Caribbean, Latin and African flavours with the nuanced power to restore the most jaded jazz palate…the Jazz Warrior succeeds in broadening our minds as well as our ears.”

Jack Pescod and The Barcode Trio – 7.30pm, Cathedral, £10
This young, ambitious piano quartet play melodic, funky, original compositions full of spirited piano parts and well-drilled unison figures. Their music recalls the party groovism of Ramsey Lewis, the lighter side of Keith Jarrett and the pop-crossover fizz of Esbjörn Svensson. Dedicated to Esbjörn Svensson, who passed away last year.

Anouar Brahem Trio – 11pm, Cathedral, £15
Featuring Anouar Brahmen on oud, Francois Coutrier on piano and Jean Louis Matinier on accordion, this transporting and beautiful concert will feature Brahem’s sensitive yet rigorous music, which ceaselessly redefines a cleverly composite universe of poetry and culture, ever balancing between discretion and sensuality, nostalgia and contemplation.

Erik Truffaz with Sly Johnson – 12.30am, Theatr Brycheiniog, £10
A mesmerising late-night collaboration between the great French trumpeter and the superstar beatboxologist, featuring the drummer Philippe Garcia.

Sunday 9th August

Cathedral Jazz Service – 11am, Cathedral, admission free
Join the Adamant Band and The Very Reverend Geoffrey Marshall, Dean of Brecon at this service on Sunday morning, which will see the Cathedral putting a unique Brecon Jazz twist on the usual Sunday service for one day only. All are welcome to attend.

Digby Fairweather’s Half Dozen with Paul Jones – 12.30pm, Market Hall, £10
Paul Jones – famous for 1960s hits such as 5-4-3-2-1, Doo Wah Diddy Diddy and more – joins Digby Fairweather’s sensational Half-Dozen for a performance which celebrates both his music and exciting new arrangements of the great jazz and blues standards which they both love.

Abdullah Ibrahim Trio – 2.30pm, Market Hall, £15
Pianist Abdullah Ibrahim is joined by long-term collaborators Belden Bullock on bass, and George Gray on drums, for a concert that explores his musical heritage: from Arabic and Moorish roots, and township jazz, to his work with Ellington and Monk, and the great canon of classical piano virtuosity.

Willie Garnett’s Big Band – 2.30pm, Captain’s Walk, £10
Magnificent seventeen-piece swinging big band led by veteran saxophonist Willie Garnett.

The London Community Gospel Choir – 5pm, Market Hall, £10
The Rev Bazil Meade’s singers barnstorm the festival with their swinging, soul-searching celebrations. The choir are characterised by thrilling arrangements of the great Gospel classics and a fantastically charismatic performance.

Quantic and his Combo Barbaro – Traditions in Transition – 5.15pm, Captain’s Walk, £15
This international cast of acclaimed musical creators fuse rediscovered psychedelic, experimental and rhythmically-rich sounds of the past with deep funk and soul elements, giving life to an explosive sonic snapshot of the eclectic and ever-evolving musical landscape of the Americas.

Dennis Rollins’ Badbone & Co – 7.30pm, Captain’s Walk, £15
We close the festival with a joyful celebration. The jazz warrior superstar trombonist’s mighty sound can be heard to full effect in his award winning five-piece band Badbone & Co’s repertoire of groove-based, funky dance music with jazz overtones.

Manu Dibango and The Soul Makossa Gang – 7.30pm, Market Hall £15
At 73 Dibango is still wielding his colour co-ordinated set of saxophones, still rippling his hands over the length of a marimba/xylophone, still improvising melodic lines from behind his circular black specs. Above all else, he is a jazzman and can be seen at the final Market Hall concert of the 2009 festival.

Brecon Jazz – 7th, 8th, 9th August 2009

Follow Brecon Jazz at: www.twitter.com/breconjazz

Full programme available online at: www.breconjazz.org

Tickets cost between £5 and £15 and are available from www.breconjazz.org and on 0870 990 1299

Brecon Jazz is produced by Hay Festival and funded by The Arts Council of Wales