Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra with special guest Roachford

Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra play the York Barbican on Wednesday 16 December, with Roachford as special guest and Joe Webb opening the night. It's a big bill for a mid-week date, and the lineup runs deep: alongside Jools and Roachford, the orchestra features Ruby Turner, Louise Marshall and Sumudu Jayatilaka.

Most of us know Jools Holland as the face of Later... with Jools Holland, which he's hosted on BBC2 since 1992, but the orchestra is his own thing. He started out playing piano by ear by the age of eight and was playing London pubs and East End docks by his early teens. At 15 he met Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford, who formed Squeeze, and he was later joined by drummer Gilson Lavis, who still plays with him. In 1987 he formed The Jools Holland Big Band, which grew into the 19-piece Rhythm & Blues Orchestra he tours with today. The music draws on blues, swing, boogie-woogie and ska, and the band plays to more than 300,000 people a year worldwide.

Roachford joins him as special guest. A London soul singer and songwriter, he topped the UK charts in 1988 with 'Cuddly Toy', has recorded ten studio albums and was awarded an MBE for Services to Music. Opening the night is Joe Webb, a Welsh jazz pianist and improviser who has guested with Jools on stage and appeared on his BBC New Year's Eve Jools' Annual Hootenanny.

It's a long night of music, starting with Webb, moving through the orchestra and Jools, and bringing in Roachford. The show starts at 7:30pm at the York Barbican (YO10 4NT) on Wednesday 16 December.