Shireen Francis & Sarah Moule offer When Peggy Met Ella in Eastbourne

Spokeswoman Annette Keen said: “Shireen Francis was last at Eastbourne jazz with her exciting and lively Caribbean Island Project, and Sarah Moule, long established as one of the best jazz singers in the country, has been a featured guest many times before. They co-wrote When Peggy Met Ella, a show that has been performed at London’s premier cabaret room The Crazy Coqs, as well as leading London venues such as the Pizza Express Jazz Club Soho, and Jazz In The House at Lauderdale House. It has played to both festival and theatre audiences across the UK, and toured in the West Country.

“Peggy Lee and Ella Fitzgerald remain two of the most popular and iconic singers of the 20th century. In a career spanning seven decades, Peggy Lee started out singing in restaurants and nightclubs until she got her first big break in 1931 as a singer with the Benny Goodman Big Band.

“Throughout her musical career Peggy wrote songs. In 1955 she co-wrote all the music for the Disney film Lady and the Tramp, performing them in the film as well as being the voice of some of the characters. She was also a talented actress and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her part in the 1955 film Pete Kelly's Blues.

“Ella Fitzgerald, sometimes referred to as the First Lady of Song, Queen of Jazz and Lady Ella, was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, intonation, absolute pitch, and a horn-like improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing. During her long career Ella worked with all the great American musicians of the time: Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra... everyone at the top of the jazz tree in the swing era wanted to work with Ella. Her ability to scat sing was, and still is, considered to be way ahead of her time and she remains to this day the leading exponent of it.

“These are pretty big shoes to fill, but Shireen and Sarah do it their own way, as homage to two of the greatest jazz singers ever, singing a collection of their icons’ signature songs and chatting about some lesser known aspects of Peggy Lee and Ella Fitzgerald’s lives.”

In the band with Shireen and Sarah are Simon Wallace (keys) and Paul Whitten (bass).

“Simon Wallace is a composer, musician and producer based in London. For nearly 20 years he wrote songs with the late great American lyricist Fran Landesman and for almost 30 years collaborated with media composer Simon Brint on music for some of Britain’s most popular TV programmes. In the past few years Simon has been producing vocal albums in his London studio, as well as touring with various projects in the UK, Europe, USA and Australia.

“Paul Whitten is a local hero, and a regular performer in jazz clubs around Sussex and beyond. He has been described as the best jazz bassist in the South of England.”

The venue is the Fishermen's Club, Royal Parade, BN22 7AA. Tickets are £15 on the door on the night (if still available), or in advance from www.WeGotTickets.com (booking fee applies). Doors open at 7.15pm, and the music starts at 8pm, finishing at around 10.30pm. There is ample parking immediately next to the venue.