The Dixie Blue Band, from St Malo in Brittany, led the festival jazz parade through the streets of Plymouth, performing authentic New Orleans marching music.

The six-piece band, which has been going since 1970, consists of trumpet, clarinet, trombone, banjo, washboard, snare drum and saxophone.

The Barbican is hosting two colourful and exciting events this week: the run-up to the Artemis Transat 2008 single-handed trans-Atlantic yacht race and the Barbican International Jazz and Blues Festival.

The two events mean that there was plenty to see and do around Sutton Harbour at the weekend, and lots more going on throughout the week.

The jazz festival includes an array of local, national and international talent and a wide variety of music performed at venues around the Barbican during the daytime and evenings, much of it free.

Highlights include:

Plymouth blues star Vince Lee swinging his West Coast rhythm and blues at various venues.

Boogie-woogie man Diz Watson attempting a 'piano crawl' around the keyboards of the Barbican's pubs and private homes.

New Orleans marching jazz band Jambalaya touring the Barbican from 3pm next Saturday and Sunday - and inviting the public to taek along their jazz umbrellas and join in.