Harpist Catrin Finch opened the festival on Thursday evening

Up to 70,000 people are expected to visit the Powys town for the four-day event, which ends on Sunday.

There will be 32 concerts, more than 54 stroller acts, and will feature the likes of Jools Holland and Lulu.

Street performers return too after some visitors criticised the atmosphere without them at last year's event.

Other top acts include Mica Paris and Curtis Stigers, while two-time Grammy nominee Jessica Williams will perform as a soloist, and Mercury music prize nominee Zoe Rahman forms part of the line-up as well.

This year's festival also features several Welsh musicians, but there will be a special feature about the contribution women have made to jazz.

Jools Holland will be performing with Lulu at Brecon Jazz

Festival director Jim Smith said: "There are many other highlights to choose from, but we have made a special feature this year of women in jazz.

"The contribution to jazz from women all over the world has never been greater.

"Add to this our opening concert featuring the extraordinary Catrin Finch Big Band CF47 and we have a programme which reflects the ever-growing influence of women in today's jazz scene."

Jools Holland will be joined by Lulu for his concert, while saxophonist and composer Joe Lovano will become the festival's first artist-in-residence.

However, a planned concert for one of the event's founding patrons George Melly, who died last month, will now be held next year.

Officials had been in talks about staging a special event this year to mark Melly's contribution to the festival, but a spokesman said they "didn't want to rush into something".