THE seventh Burton Agnes Jazz and Blues festival kicks off this weekend with a circus swagger which befits the elegant attractions of the Elizabethan family house in 15 acres of beautiful grounds, three days of varied music, entertainment for the kids and an adjacent campsite.

Organised by saxophone-playing owner Simon Cunliffe-Lister and jazz singer Saffron Byass, the festival opens tomorrow night with big-band classics played by Octopus and continues to midnight with blues by Brothers Groove and Rebecca Robyns.

Saturday’s highlight will be our very own Paul Baxter’s Give A Little Love Jazz Orchestra, with special guest Alan Barnes at 2.45pm. Alan is a great favourite as a reeds player, but it will be his prowess as a composer as well as player on show on Saturday as he performs his tribute to two of the world’s greatest fictional detectives, Sherlock Holmes and Columbo in Watching The Detectives. The high-octane rhythm and blues of King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys will jump and jive into the 6.30pm slot on Saturday and Chantel McGregor brings on hot guitar licks and vocals at 8.20pm.

Sunday will bring the New Orleans barrelhouse, blues and boogie of Tipitina at 1.45pm and York’s Ben Beattie’s After Midnight Band is joined by Simon Cunliffe-Lister to wind things up from 5pm. There will be late sessions at 10m tomorrow and Saturday, plus sessions in the Great Hall For full details visit: burtonagnes.com

Two choices of elegant hotel jazz tonight to have you shimmying across town between Churchill’s Hotel, Bootham and the newly re-furbished Middleton’s Hotel, Skeldergate/Cromwell Road. The Karl Mullen trio begins at 7pm at Churchill’s (01904 644456) and Bejazzled will play from 8.30pm at Middleton’s (01904 611570).

You can find all listings of local jazz at John Marley’s jazzinyork.com and you can congratulate him on his efforts and hear him playing in the jazz trio at Kennedy’s Café Bar, Little Stonegate, on Sunday at 1pm. Also on Sunday, the fabulous Blueflies will be at the New York Club, Blossom Street at teatime (01904 620426).

The jazz jam continues at the Phoenix Inn, George Street, on Wednesday, with Chris Moore, James Lancaster, Trevor King and either Christian Topman or George Beastall on bass (01904 656401). Also on Wednesday, the Kier Hall Trio plays at Zizzi’s Restaurant, Lendal.

Outside of York, Wakefield Jazz has the final gig of the season before the summer break with blues tomorrow night with Groove Indigo, featuring Adrian Ingram, guitar (01977 680542). Jazz in the Spa has one of its annual highlights on Saturday, when stride pianist Jeff Barnhart flies in from Mystic, Connecticut, USA for a stomping night (01937 844898).

Scarborough Jazz runs every Wednesday at the Cask, Cambridge Terrace and next week’s guest will be Julia Wray (01723 500570).

Crowd-funding as a way of financing recording has been taken up by University of York graduate, drummer/composer Dave Smyth and His Stoop Quintet. A campaign to raise money for their debut album will have every pound donated matched by the University. More info and donations at crowdfund.stoopquintet.co.uk