ONE of the most highly-renowned jazz clubs in the country is moving closer to Essex.

For many years, Jazz at the Fleece, in Boxford, Suffolk, attracted jazz fans from all over the world, lured by the chance to see big names such as Jamie Cullum in an intimate setting.

Recently, the club moved to Kersey Mill, near Ipswich, and now it has found another new home, Stoke by Nayland Golf Club, just off the A134 Sudbury to Colchester Road, in Leavenheath.

The name may have changed – to simply Fleece Jazz – but the quality of the acts has remained top-class, as the club’s recent Parliamentary Jazz Club of the Year Award testifies.

This Friday, Vancouver-born trumpet player Jay Phelps and his quintet are playing, while other names to look out for in coming weeks include actress and singer Mari Wilson. For details, go to www.fleecejazz.co.uk