IT WILL be a return home for jazz musician Andy Sheppard when he comes back to the city for the Ageas Salisbury International Arts Festival.

Now living in Bristol the award-winning saxophonist started his illustrious career in Salisbury in the late-1970s with the contemporary quartet Sphere.

Playing currently as the Andy Sheppard Quartet he will be taking to the stage alongside Eivind Aarset (guitar), Michel Benita (bass) and Seb Rochford (drums).

“We will be playing music from our latest album,” Sheppard said.

“It is a very international quartet, the bassist is from Norway, the guitarist is from Paris and the drummer is Scottish. The music we play I prefer to call creative music, very atmospheric, poignant, deep and very beautiful.

“Jazz is a very broad spectrum of music — rock, pop, classic has been influenced by jazz and that is great.”

The group’s new album is entitled Surrounded by Sea and is Sheppard’s third album with record label ECM.

But Sheppard says he is influenced by all genres and still enjoys listening to a diverse range of music.

“I listen to all kinds of music,” he continued. “At the moment I am listening to a lot of music out of Scandinavia. It is a shame that more people don’t buy records, you get so much more quality and depth.

“There is just so much mediocrity out there in the music industry.”

Over a long career Sheppard has played with industry legends such as Ringo Starr and George Russell.

“I have been very fortunate to play with those people,” he added. “I have been so lucky that my saxophone has taken me all over the world.

“Playing music is fantastic but you can never stand still and must continue to keep practising and improving all of the time.

“The saxophone really is a beautiful instrument. It is just a piece of bamboo that you blow though but it is like singing into the instrument.”

The Andy Sheppard Quartet is playing at Salisbury Playhouse on Friday, June 5 at 7.30pm.

n For tickets visit salisburyfestival.co.uk