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"Music To Melt To" As Line-Up For Anglesey's Summer Night Jazz Announced

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One of the UK's finest jazz singers and much loved performer, Clare Teal, has been announced as the headline act for Summer Night Jazz, an outdoor event to be held at National Trust's Plas Newydd Country House and Gardens on the Isle of Anglesey, North Wales on Saturday, 2 July 2011.

Clare Teal and her band will be joined by rising star Amy Roberts and North Wales-based quintet Dr Jazz for a feast of traditional and contemporary jazz and big band sounds in a glorious waterside setting.

Organisers are hoping to breathe new life into the event, which has in the past attracted big jazz names such as Humphrey Littleton, Acker Bilk and Kenny Ball, to the ancestral home of the Marquess of Anglesey on the Menai Straits. The event returns following a ten-year hiatus, but organisers are confident that 2011 is the right time to bring the groove back.

“We're very excited about the possibility of reviving Summer Night Jazz," says the event's artistic director Gwyn Evans, who also fronts local jazz five piece Dr Jazz. “At its height, the Summer Night Jazz events at Plas Newydd attracted audiences of up to 3000, and people came from all over to see the big names in jazz. The truth is, we all miss it, and have wanted to see it back for years. We're ecstatic that Clare has agreed to headline and bring her fantastic show to Anglesey."

Clare Teal made history in 2004 by signing the the biggest ever recording-deal by a British jazz singer, with Sony. She's gone on to receive widespread recognition and plaudits, in mainstream as well as jazz circles. Michael Parkinson described one of her early albums as “the best record I've heard from an English artist since ... well, I can't remember when" and she now combines recording and touring with her own jazz and big band programme on BBC Radio 2. Fellow musician and Radio 2 presenter Jamie Cullum describes Clare as having “a timeless sound to her voice and classic touch and sound to her songwriting. Now how modern is that? Music to melt I'd say." She is currently putting the finishing touches to her tenth album Hey Ho, released on Mud Records in May.

Although this will be her first show in North Wales, the area is already familiar to Yorkshire- born Clare as she spent many summer holidays in the area as a child."I have really happy memories of family holidays in North Wales," said Clare. “Ice-creams on the prom in Llandudno, visiting the castle in Caernarfon, and going to the beach on Anglesey. When I heard about Summer Night Jazz, and all the greats that have performed at Plas Newydd, I just couldn't turn it down!"

The concert will be held in the gardens of Plas Newydd on a gigantic dome stage, which will enable the audience to bring picnics and enjoy a laid-back, festival feel on the night. There will also be a firework display to wow the crowds at the end of the evening.

Organisers are going even further to encourage visitors to enjoy award-winning local produce by organising a mini food festival earlier on in the day, where local suppliers will provide hampers to take into the concert, which starts at 6.30pm.

Organisers are also partnering with the local music service Gwasanaeth Ysgolion William Mathias to put on an additional concert on the Sunday afternoon, in order to showcase the local youth orchestra, wind band and chorus in an evening of show tunes and opera, with solo performances from some of the area's rising stars.

Tickets are available by phoning the ticket line on 01286 685 222 or visiting nationaltrust.org.uk/events. For more information, visit the official website plasnewyddjazz.com. Tickets for Saturday evening 2.7.2011: Adults £17.50, Children £10, Family (2 + 2) £45. A booking fee of between £1 and £1.95 will be applied.

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