A dimly-lit jazz club was packed to the rafters with people desperate to see a singer famed for his collaborations with such greats as Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis and Jackie McLean.

The band is busy getting their groove on when the stage door opens and out strolls the least likely looking jazzman imaginable.

Wearing a Pearly King-style waistcoat, Indian headband, bright red blazer and tight white flares, Joe Lee Wilson looked more like a Butlin's redcoat who had accidentally ingested a large dose of hallucinogenic mushrooms.

Thankfully though, this was where the similarities ended and Wilson proved to have more talent in his bejewelled little finger than a whole troupe of Butlin's finest could dream of.

Born in 1935 in Oklahoma, Wilson's mother had high hopes for him to be a country and western crooner but a fateful run in with Lady Day at the tender age of 16 persuaded him jazz was his true calling.

As well as inspiring him, she also inadvertently forewarned him of the debilitating effects of drugs. As he looked up in awe at her on stage, he was struck by the realisation she was too high to find the mic.

"If you wanted to be involved in the jazz scene, you had to be into drugs - and I mean heavy drugs," he reminisced between songs. "But I decided to stay clear of that whole scene - I wanted to be able to find the mic."

And this probably explains why Wilson is still going strong at 69 years of age.

Once he was warmed up, the power of his soulful baritone and such a radiant onstage personality was hard to resist.

Playing songs from his most recent two albums, Ballads For Trane and Hey Look At You, Wilson also peppered his set with renditions of classics such as I Cover The Waterfront and, most memorably, a driving version of My Favourite Things which he dedicated to John Coltrane.

I would heartily recommend catching Wilson next time he's in town. Bizarre outfits aside, there are few of his calibre left.