AN ARTS centre is hoping for Pennies From Heaven to bring back Bracknell Jazz Festival for 2013.

South Hill Park in Bracknell is hosting a concert next month to raise funds to stage the festival, which was a major showcase for British modern jazz in the 1980s.

The three-day festival used to draw crowds of up to 4,000 people, and featured performances from artists including Stan Tracey and Pat Metheny.

A number of national and local artists will perform at the Bring Back Bracknell Jazz Festival! concert, which is being organised in conjunction with Jagz club in Ascot. Ron McAllister, chief executive of South Hill Park, said: "I am delighted to be hosting a fundraising event to pave the way for the return of the Bracknell Jazz Festival at South Hill Park, with our partners from Jagz."

He added: "I have many fond memories of artists such as Jan Garbarek performing here in the 80s - I remember you could even hear strains of the most wonderful music wafting through the back gardens of houses as far away as Great Hollands!

"The festivals were so successful that the words 'Bracknell' and 'jazz' became synonymous by the mid-80s."

"The festival was replaced in the 90s by a more general music festival - Bracknell Festival - and then in turn by Big Day Out but I still think there is the need for a three-day jazz festival at SHP. We want to get the tents out and make a weekend of it!"

The Bring Back Bracknell Jazz Festival! will be held at 8pm on Saturday, September 8, at the Wilde Theatre at South Hill Park, in Ringmead, Birch Hill. Tickets are �12 or �10 for members via the box office on 01344 484123 or at www.southhillpark.org.uk