TONIGHT'S the night for Ma Bessie and her Pig Foot Band to bring nostalgic blues and jazz to Southend.

The band, fronted by Ma Bessie - aka acclaimed vocalist Julia Titus - will play classics from the 1920s and 30s to an audience at Annie's Jazz club in Chalkwell Park.

And the night is being brought to the audience by two of Southend's most prominent jazz event curators.

Annie Taylor is the face behind the well-established Annie's Jazz club which has been running for more than ten years, and this show sees the fourth collaboration between her and Jazz Matters promoter Darren Harper.

Darren has also been curating the Southend Jazz Festival since 2019.

He said of the show tonight: "Ma Bessie and her Pig Foot Band mix classic blues and jazz tunes from the inter-war years, with a selection of original songs and hand-picked covers from the last 50 years of popular music.

"Building on her passion for 'Empress of the blues' Bessie Smith, Julia formed the band in 2015 to share the music of Smith and her contemporaries with a new generation of listeners.

"The show mixes Julia’s rich, warm vocal sound with a dynamic band, that look and sound as though they have stepped right out of this bygone era."

He added: "Annie's Jazz club started in Ye Olde Smack in Old Leigh over a decade ago, before moving to Thorpe Bay Golf Club and, since her return from lockdown, has found a brand new home at the beautiful Chalkwell Park Rooms, situated in Chalkwell Park itself.

"Artists such as Liane Carroll and Claire Martin have featured at the club, which runs on a Tuesday night, twice a month.

"Jazz Matters is a project I set up to help promote jazz music in all it’s forms.

"The music scene in Southend is incredible, especially in the jazz world.

"There’s just so much going on.

"Jazz in the UK has really exploded over the last few years, with great musicians across the country really pushing the musical boundaries.

"So it’s really great to be able to bring in a show which celebrates the roots of this wonderful genre, as a reminder of how we all got where we are today”.

Tickets for Ma Bessie and Her Pigfoot Band are available via AnniesJazz.co.uk, at £14 for members and £16 for non members.