WORLD renowned trumpet player Jay Phelps will wow Dorchester with a performance next week.

International jazz star Jay is set to play with his live band and special guests at the Corn Exchange on Friday, June 16.

Jay plays just ahead of his much anticipated new album Free As The Birds, set to be released later this year.

Vancouver-born Phelps is renowned and respected in discerning music circles as a phenomenal trumpet player.

After rising to fame in the MOBO award winning band Empirical, Phelps toured and collaborated with A list stars including George Benson, Jamie Cullum and the late, great Amy Winehouse, as well as legends of jazz such as Courtney Pine, Sir John Dankworth and Wynton Marsalis' - creative director of New York City’s ‘Jazz at Lincoln Centre’ Orchestra.

In addition to this plethora of musical achievements, Jay Phelps has also embarked on a budding film and TV career, originally appearing in Stephen Poliakoff’s Golden Globe nominated BBC drama ‘Dancing On The Edge’ about a black jazz bands’ experiences in the

1930s.

Jay’s new album expertly manages to include straight ahead jazz alongside bossa nova, contemporary vocal jazz and soul. This new body of work was born out of an unplanned career break after Jay broke a rib while saving his mother’s dog, who had unexpectedly fallen into water.

Jay remembers: “I couldn’t play, couldn’t laugh, couldn’t lie down even. It was a disaster!....I had to take time out and, luckily, a friend who lived in Thailand was kind enough to loan me her apartment overlooking the sea, complete with a piano. I started to work on new music and, out there, away from everything, I began to feel free.”

The result of this emancipation became ‘Free As Birds’ a unique and creative combination of music and in many ways a scrapbook of Jay’s musical life past, present and future.

Having hosted the late show at London’s world famous Ronnie Scott’s club for over a year before moving to the iconic Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square, Jay Phelps now takes his critically acclaimed show on the road.

Audiences can expect an exclusive preview of tracks from the new album, refined and delivered in Phelps’ inimitable way.

Jay’s fiery and enthralling performance covers influences across a wide spectrum of styles, from improvisational jazz to hip hop, fusing in elements of funk and soul and striking the perfect balance between each genre.

Jay’s Phelps’ tour is generously supported by funding

from the Arts Council of England. To book tickets to his live show visit jayphelpsmusic.net/