MUSIC lovers flocked to Brecon over the weekend as the town was taken over by Brecon Jazz and the Fringe Festival.

Not even the rain on Saturday could dampen the atmosphere, which was described by festival-goers as “buzzing” from start to finish.

Dixieland started the jazz weekend, which hosted musicians from around the world, with a concert at Theatr Brycheiniog on Thursday, however the official launch came from the Big Band on Friday at the Castle Hotel.

The Jazz Festival, which also featured a series of “afternoon jazz” events in smaller venues such as Ty Helyg guesthouse, hosted free entertainment on the outdoor stage from Friday to Sunday.

Headlining the festival on Saturday evening was a South African Jazz band which was a tribute to the late jazz musician, trumpeter and composer Hugh Masekela who had previously performed at the festival in 2010.

The South African pianist Adam Glasser, who had worked with Masekela, curated the “unique and special tribute” as he led a sextet of musicians at the Guildhall Theatre.

As well as Adam, the other musicians in the sextet included trumpeter Byron Wallen, who also worked with Masekela and knew him personally, saxophonist Josephine Davies, Rob Luft on guitar, Daisy George on bass and Corrie Dick on drums.

One of the jazz festival’s organisers Lynne Gornall said: “We are very pleased with the response to this year’s Brecon Jazz Festival programme.

“The variety of music, representing three continents and profiling of top Welsh and British jazz talent, went down very well with the audiences as well as the quality of the music and musicians.”

The jazz programme, which took nine months of planning, was held at five major venues – Brecon Guildhall, the Castle Hotel, Muse Arts, St Mary’s Church and the Wellington Hotel – as well as the main free stage on the Bulwark and the smaller acoustic free stage on the High Street.

The Fringe Festival was also a major success this year as it saw over 200 performances in over 20 venues over four days from Thursday, August 9 until last Sunday.

Organiser Nigel Evans described this year’s festival as “excellent” and said that numbers “might have been up” despite the bad weather.

One of the highlights of the Fringe was a giant fish which was built to join the parade as part of this year’s Visit Wales theme of the sea. The “stupendous” 30ft-long fish, built using willow and recycled crisp packets, joined the Frazz Parade as it toured the town led by the Muse owner Ruth Gibbs.

See full report and pictures in this week’s Brecon and Radnor Express.