THE Golden Jubilee Season of the Basingstoke Concert Club kicks off in style - but in different surroundings - next month.

It all starts with The Paul Robeson Legacy by Willard White at the Haymarket Theatre on Saturday, July 24.

Willard White was born in Kingston, Jamaica, where he began his music training before moving to the Juilliard School in New York.

Since making his debut with the New York City Opera, he has sung in the Opera Houses of San Francisco, London, Munich, Amsterdam, Geneva, Hamburg, Paris, Los Angeles and many more.

Paul Robeson's love of the people led him to work tirelessly as a campaigner for civil rights and was an integral part of the choice of repertoire as a performer.

White pays tribute to him in an evening full of "music of the people" from around the world.

The programme includes Negro spirituals, Russian, British folk, classic early jazz and even some Gershwin and Kern. White (pictured above) is accompanied by a small group of eminent, versatile musicians led by Neal Thornton on piano, who has arranged all the songs for this programme, with Guy Barker on trumpet, Geoff Gascoyne on bass, Mark Doffman on percussion and Richard Bolton on guitar.

Linking narrative, it tells the story of Robeson's life and BBC Wales Radio presenter Beverley Humphreys is the narrator of the show.

The performance begins at 7.30pm.

Tickets, priced £22, with concessions available, can be purchased from the Haymarket box office on 01256 465566.