A PROFESSIONAL double bassist and his wife will be bringing top flight live jazz to Burford with hopes of launching a new club.

Paul and Jayne Jefferies have organised three concerts in Warwick Hall and hope the events will drum up enough excitement to continue on a regular basis.

The couple moved to Hailey from Burton-on-Trent three years ago and set about infusing the area with a taste of jazz.

They set up Witney Jazz club, which still stages regular concerts at the town's Burwell Hall.

Mr Jefferies said: "The Witney performances are hugely popular and sell out regularly.

"We really love the concept of bringing top quality live jazz music out of London and the major cities to more rural areas and musicians enjoy the change of scenery."

Mrs Jefferies added: "We took a trip to Burford one day and we were knocked out by the new Warwick Hall.

"It’s a beautiful design, its light, airy and above all it has fabulous sounding acoustics, not to mention lots of parking close by – so we set our minds on creating a brand new jazz experience for Burford."

A series of three monthly concerts will test the reception, beginning with a concert from award-winning violinist and singer Ben Holder on Friday, May 12.

Mr Jefferies, who is one of the founders of the Oxford Jazz Festival, said: "Ben, in our opinion, is the most exciting jazz violinist in Europe and his show is crammed full of upbeat jazz favourites from the swing era.

"His interpretations of music from the likes of Benny Goodman, Errol Garner, Hoagy Carmichael and Gershwin are full of humour and his sheer virtuosity on violin leaves audiences breathless."

The two other concerts will be held on Friday, June 9 and Thursday, July 13.

If these are well attended the pair will create a regular monthly series of concerts featuring top UK artists.

For tickets call Mr Jefferies on 07710 545555 or visit the Burford Visitor Information Centre.

A Facebook page has been created at facebook/burfordjazz and a dedicated website is planned if the series becomes permanent.