AS a first-timer at the festival, I enjoyed sampling the different styles of music.

Beatles tribute band Accrington Stanley played all the classics and were a cut above normal tribute acts. I also enjoyed the Merseysippi Jazz Band with Clinton Ford, a man who is a crooner in the best sense of the word.

With so many hats, masks and silly costumes Bob Kerr and his Whopee Band must have an enormous box of props. They are certainly the clowns of jazz and had the audience in stitches with their combination of comedy and music.

I also heard drummer 'Sir' Alan Buckley with Arthur Brown's All Star Jazz Band, which played to an audience enjoying the Sunday sun in the jazz garden.

Later, the marquee at the Kings Head was packed with people eager to hear Mellow Avstreih sing in the style of Billie Holiday, accompanied by Ken Godfrey's Central Jazz Band.

The highlight of the festival for me was the Budapest Ragtime Band, which mixed Hungarian folk music, traditional jazz, comedy and some fine solo performances.

Jo Lafferty