THEY are celebrating 21 years of a musical partnership which has established them as major players on the jazz scene.

Songstress Tina May and pianist/composer Nikki Iles will be marking their anniversary at the Southampton Jazz Club tonight.

Andy Iles, who has been chairman since 1979, says the club, now settling into its new home at the Talking Heads’ Polygon base, is also celebrating 42 years.

A leading jazz critic has described Gloucester born Tina as the finest jazz vocalist ever produced by Britain.

She was influenced greatly by her parents’ jazz record collection, containing such illustrious composers and artistes as Duke Ellington and Fats Waller.

Her worldwide concert and festival appearances have included London’s Royal Festival Hall, Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, Hong Kong Jazz Club, Munich, Belfast, Cork, Kilkenny, Antwerp, Boulogne, Sydney, Melbourne, Malta, Monte Carlo and Prado.

She has recorded several albums on the 33 Jazz Records label.

Nikki Iles is one of the UK’s foremost jazz pianists and composers. In 1996 she won the John Dankworth Special Award at the BT Jazz Festival.

The jazz duos have forged a very special musical relationship since they began working together on their first CD in the 90s.

Supporting them at the Southampton Jazz Club gig will be the dream team of Dave Green (bass) and Steve Brown (drums)

The versatile bass player was for many years a member of the Humphrey Lyttelton Band and has worked with a glittering array of British and American jazz artistes.

Drummer Steve is a member of the Scott Hamilton Quartet and a British Jazz Award winner.

Andy says: “The inclusion of bassist Dave Green and drummer Steve Brown creates a formidable quartet which should not be missed by Southampton jazz lovers.”