Tickets have gone on sale for the 32nd Swanage Jazz Festival featuring some of the best jazz in the UK today.

The festival will take place from Friday, July 7 to Sunday, July 9 

Headline names will include The James Taylor Quartet, Alina Bzhezinska’s Hip Harp Collective with Vimala Rowe and Zara McFarlane sings Sarah Vaughan.

The festival has extended its Friday programme which starts at 4pm and is going back onto its traditional home of Sandpit Field, overlooking the sea, whilst retaining the Mowlem Theatre.

This means it will have two 400 capacity venues plus further venues in town.

Other names booked include Bristol bands Get The Blessing and The Rebecca Nash Band.

Festival favourites Alan Barnes and Nigel Price return, the latter with the outstanding Italian guitarist Alessio Menconi.

The programme will also feature the legendary vocalist Norma Winstone in a trio format, popular clarinettist Arun Ghosh and bands led by Misha Mullov-Abbado, Corrie Dick, Dave O’Higgins, and rising bass player Isobella Burnham.

At the time of writing the New Orleans and mainstream programme was still being finalised and a further announcement will be made about this in due course.

The festival on Saturday will kick off with the traditional New Orleans Parade featuring James Emmett’s Ragtime Revellers.

Paul Kelly, chairman of Swanage Jazz Festival, said: “We staged our 2022 Festival to great acclaim. We are delighted to be expanding the festival capacity by going back onto Sandpit Field.

"We will now have two sizeable venues with fantastic sea views and the increased capacity will address some venue capacity issues we had in 2022. We will be adding to the published programme in the coming weeks. Once again Swanage will offer a wide range of top quality British jazz in an unbeatable setting."

Ticket prices are £130 for the weekend stroller, £80 for a Saturday or Sunday Stroller and £40 for a Friday Stroller. Heavily discounted tickets are available for accompanied under 16s.

Residents of BH19 (Swanage) will be entitled to a 10 per cent discount.

A weekend stroller ticket will give access to over 40 bands. As in 2022 the festival will also be staging a free Fringe Festival in local pubs and hotels.

Full details of the festival can be found at www.swanagejazzfestival.co.uk

Tickets can be purchased from the festival website.

Some further acts are yet to be booked and programme updates will be made in due course.