Not only a cat has nine lives. Tomorrow night, The York Mystery Soul Festival presents The Snake Has 9 Lives, a world premiere presenting nine different sides of jazz saxophonist Snake Davis at York Theatre Royal.

Charles Hutchinson puts the questions to the one and only Snake, former co-frontman of the late, great York soul revue band Zoot And The Roots.

Introducing… not one but nine incarnations of Snake Davis, tomorrow’s saxophonist star of his own ever-multiplying Snakefest at York Theatre Royal

Where did the idea for The Snake Has 9 Lives show come from, Snake?

“It came out of the never-ending quest for new things, new line-ups, new challenges, fresh things for audiences, many of whom follow me faithfully through all my various line-ups and styles.

“Plus David Porter [director of the festival’s York-based promoters, J-Night] gave me the chance to play this wonderful festival and we both felt the need to do something new.”

How long has it taken to put together?

“Approximately three months, and it’s been hard work. All the material in the first set is stuff I’ve never performed before.”

How have you managed to bring together so many musicians for one day in York?

“I’ve been kicking about for three decades in the music biz and have spent more time in the north than the south, meeting and forging great relationships with many wonderfully talented players along the way. Now I’m in the lucky position of being able to pick up the phone and talk them into being part of my evil schemes.”

Do the musicians perform in each configuration or are there different musicians in the trio, quartet, quintet, etc?

“The first set is the where most of the variety takes place. We grow gradually. After starting solo, there’ll be The Snake/Chris Parkinson Duo. Chris leaves; we then have The Snake/Dave Bowie Junior/Mark Creswell Trio and Chris Parkinson rejoins to form the Quartet. Bodhran player Eryl Roberts joins to make up the Quintet; trumpet player Bob Taylor is added for the Sextet.

“Then the pattern breaks; we add some performers who I wish to remain a surprise. Next, the New York Brass Band join us and after that I involve vocalist Sue Quin.

“At least 20 performers will have graced the stage by the interval.”

What’s in the second half?

“Snake Davis And The Suspicions will start that half as an eight-piece band but once again there’ll be considerably more than eight by the end of the evening. The line-up will build again for the Snake Davis Big Band finale.”

Snake Davis And The Suspicions are billed in the festival brochure as “the re-formed Suspicions”. When did you last perform together?

“The Suspicions perform by invitation only really; we don’t actively seek gigs like we do for all the other line-ups. I think we’ve performed twice this year, most recently in Blackpool at The Sands, just a few weeks ago. No more shows till after Christmas now, though.”

Give an insight into what each configuration will play tomorrow.

“Once again, I don’t want to give too much away, but the first half comprises an eclectic mix, including traditional Irish, a new original, a show-tune, some African pieces, a Mary Chapin Carpenter song and Heartlands, a tune I wrote and recorded for the Snakebites CD but never found the right line-up to perform before.

“The Suspicions, the second half, is easy to summarise: soul and specifically a lot of Northern Soul.”

What does Northern Soul mean to you?

“It means happy memories of some of the best gigs ever, many of them in pier-end ballrooms or on caravan sites in winter, sometimes going on at 3am; always great passionate devoted soul boys and girls (men and women these days).

“It’s a music genre and music scene with a beautiful, pulsating, gyrating heartbeat. When I hear a Northern Soul classic echoing round a huge fading ballroom through a second-rate PA system and see the sweating synchronised bodies on the floor, I feel a real thrill in my heart and gut.”

Will there be another life for The Snake Has 9 Lives after York?

“I can’t think beyond tomorrow. No plans. I go straight from York to Tokyo into intense rehearsals and a show to many tens of thousands in the Nissan Stadium with Eikichi Yazawa, massive rock-star in Japan.

“I doubt if I’ll really come down to earth or be able to consider that question till after that.”

And finally, on a different tack, as The York Mystery Soul Festival ties in with the York Mystery Plays 2012, have you ever seen the Mystery Plays, Snake?

“No, but I’d love to.”

• The York Mystery Soul Festival, six summer nights of jazz, gospel, blues, Northern Soul, reggae and funk, runs from tonight until August 25 at York Theatre Royal. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

Festival dates are: tonight, Ruby Turner; tomorrow, Snake Davis in The Snake Has 9 Lives; next Friday, The Al Morrison Blues Experience with guest singer Juliet Roberts; August 18, Jazz Jamaica: Tighten Up!, with lovers rock singer Myrna Hague; August 24, Pee Wee Ellis Funk Assembly; August 25, Festival Finale: The South African Gospel Singers. All concerts start at 8pm.