THORNBURY'S Mardi Gras jazz event at the Chantry over the weekend provided a tempting taste of a possible annual event.

Do you know the way to St Jose? asks the song. Well, the headliners - the 10th Avenue Band, from that Californian city, certainly had no problems finding their way to Thornbury.

"Hi there! .. Is this your castle nearby?" It wasn't long before band leader Ed Zimbrick was heading towards the CastleHotel making enquires for a future stay. He was so taken by it that he would have booked in right away had there been vacancies.

What had all started with a chance meeting between Chantry commitee member Doug Daniels and the band's manager Charlie Clark on a previous guest appearance in Bristol provided some memorable toe tapping jazz over this May weekend.

Pioneering this jazz extravaganza as a forerunner of a possible annual event, the band thrilled its audience with its varying styles - from genuine New Orleans to the very best of Basie and Glen Miller. Adaptability was a feature of this excellent band, despite a little opposition from St Mary's Church bells!

Attracting a sizeable audience on the first two evenings - Friday and Saturday - with a smaller one on Sunday lunchtime, the event proved beyond doubt that staging an annual jazz festival was not beyond the realms of reality.

Supported on the Saturday evening by the Bristol Big Band, led by Mike Wilkins and featuring 21 musicians in all, it was a thoroughly rousing spectacle enjoyed by all who attended. Several of the audience travelled from South Wales for both evening performances.

The comparatively gentle style of Swingtet, bringing new style for swing arrangements to established classics, was well received - though various other events - such as the Race for Life on Clifton Downs and powerboat racing at Bristol harbourside - were popular alternative attractions competing with the Sunday performance.

Excellently staged and presented in the attractive "Chantry" garden it has sparked a new measure of enthusiasm in this area of the town.

Concern about the Chantry's neighbours was borne in mind by the organisers. But far from raising objections, the American band drew applause from some nearby residents.

This was indeed a new venture for the Chantry - the Thornbury Community Association - and heralds a new beginning and a welcome change of style.

The Mardi Gras has been acclaimed by the Bristol Jazz Society with its 300-strong membership, as a futuristic idea - especially if it results in the establishment of an annual jazz festival in the town.

Held possibly in June - and entirely separate from the Arts Festival - it would prove to be an added attraction contributing significantly to visitor interest.