The last living member of Frank Sinatra’s legendary Rat Pack, ageing American singer-pianist Buddy Greco, brought the 2010 Marlborough International Jazz Festival to an end on Sunday afternoon in sweltering conditions with a disappointingly small audience in the Priory marquee.

Festival director Nick Fogg introduced Greco saying: “This is the last event of the 2010 festival and it is not often you get the chance to introduce a legend.”

Greco told his audience: “I have been coming here (to England) since 1949 as a 17 year old piano player with the Benny Goodman orchestra.

“This is my 60th year in your wonderful country and thank you for having me.”

Greco, who has recorded more than 70 albums during his 50 year career, opened his show with one of his biggest hits I’ve Got You Under My Skin and while his voice was not what it was at the height of his career he showed that he had lost none of his mastery of the keyboard.

Greco was backed by three more silver haired musicians, on bass, electric keyboard and drums, and very probably the total music experience between the four was well in excess of 100 years, Between songs Greco spoke about his life and his loves and introduced his second song, Girls Talk, asking his audience to listen to the lyrics which he said summed up his philosophy on life.

He demonstrated his prowess with the piano when he played It Might Be You, the theme tune from the Dustin Hoffman film Tootsie, wowing the audience with his mellifluous playing and getting a huge applause at the end.

Then it was time for another song, You Can’t Take That Away from Me, another old time favourite from the Sumatra cadre.

Over the three days of the festival just under 100 bands played in more than 20 venues around the town with many of the festival-goers taking advantage of its unique stroller tickets enabling them to visit as many of the shows as they wished.

More pictures and reviews in this week's Gazette and Herald