Holiday is an iconic star of the jazz scene with a dramatic biography including much heartbreak.

She was a woman who knew how to sing about pain. She has been the greatest influence on legends such as Frank Sinatra and this was an evening of celebration of Holiday's contribution to music.

A Tribute To Billie Holiday was performed by an exciting line up of award-winning stars self-taught alto saxophonist Soweto Kinch gave a signature rap performance of his ode to Billie Holiday.

With his rapping background Kinch brought a slightly avant-garde feeling to the small group of jazz musicians.

On the tenor sax was Denys Baptiste. Denys has been described as "one of the strongest tenor saxophonists this country has ever produced", and his accompaniment to "You don't know what love is" provided a rich sultry sound to the music.

The first half of the performance began with two instrumental solos by the saxophonists which was received by the audience with much eager tapping of feet.

Songs were sung by Zara McFarlane. At the age of 14 McFarlane appeared on This Morning with Richard and Judy and, now aged 22, she is a very talented singer.

The Dune concert was Zara's first performance with the other instrumentalists in York. A rendition of "They can't take that away from me" was brilliantly done and McFarlane's voice came through with powerful emotion.

McFarlane also sang Holiday's 1939 classic, God Bless The Child, dedicated to her mother.

Drummer Rod Youngs played with passion and gave energy to a sometimes lethargic band.

Bassist Gary Crosby played the mellow notes that added to the sound of the band. Indeed this was an evening for being mellow.

During the performance it was announced that the jazz festival will now occur annually and be named the Alf Peacock Memorial Concert. Brilliant news.

Updated: 11:03 Saturday, July 30, 2005