ONE of the most influential musicians of the last 60 years is stopping by Malvern as part of his diamond jubilee tour.

Master of jazz, Chris Barber, will perform at Malvern Theatres next month in a charity concert presented by the Rotary Club of Bredon Hill and Parkinson's UK Worcester and District Branch.

The Big Chris Barber Band will come to Malvern on Tuesday, June 16, and is made up of bandleader and trombonist Chris, alongside ten other musicians who will get the audience in to full swing.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s Chris was mainly responsible for arranging the first UK tours of blues artists Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee and Muddy Waters. This, with the encouragement of local enthusiasts such as Alexis Korner and John Mayall, sparked young musicians such as Peter Green, Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones.

The Big Chris Barber Band feature everything from New Orleans to blues to late ’20s Ellington, played with panache and skill.

Basil Sellwood, fundraiser for the Worcester and District Parkinson's Branch, said it is set to be a "fantastic event".

"We are incredibly lucky to have Chris coming to play with us. He has been on the jazz scene for so many years and is hugely influential," he said.

"Chris really helped change music and he helped influence so many bands, the Rolling Stones being just one of them.

"I know many people in the jazz scene, having played in a jazz band myself, so after a few phone calls I managed to get Chris' mobile number. I gave him a call one day and told him what we would like to do, and he said he thought it was a great idea and that he would add the date to his Jubilee Tour. We were thrilled.

"Tickets are selling very well already, with half of them gone. It is set to be an absolutely superb evening, which will see Chris going through the history of his long trip through jazz, which is a unique and fascinating art form."

Tickets to the show cost £28, or £22.40 with concessions.

The show starts at 7.30pm and tickets can be bought by visiting www.malvern-theatres.co.uk or calling 01684 892 277.