Rochester Cathedral’s choir will make history next month when it appears alongside the James Taylor Quartet at legendary London jazz club Ronnie Scott’s.

The choristers will be the first cathedral choir to sing at the venue when they provide the vocals for Rochester-based JTQ.

They will be performing the Rochester Mass, written by Mr Taylor, who lives just a stone’s throw from the cathedral.

Their rendition will be at a party marking the launch of an album of the mass, which made its world debut at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London earlier this year.

Scott Farrell, the cathedral’s director of music, said they had no hesitation in accepting the invitation to take part at the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

He said: “What an extraordinary opportunity and an extraordinary collaboration – the legendary James Taylor Quartet and the choir of the second oldest cathedral in the UK – it had to be done.

“Since then the Rochester Mass has really got the music industry buzzing and it goes without saying that everyone is incredibly excited about appearing at Ronnie Scott’s. We will be aiming to get as many members of our 40-strong choir as possible on the stage.”

Mr Taylor’s links with the cathedral began when he started to attend evensong during his father’s battle with Alzheimer’s.

“I completely immersed myself in religious choral music as a means of coping, and the music entered my soul." - James Taylor

He said: “I completely immersed myself in religious choral music as a means of coping with all of that, and the music entered my soul.

“I wanted to take that incredible sound and mix it with what we do to make something which is hopefully new and challenging. It’s a completely unique listening experience.”

The catalyst for the project came when Mr Taylor was asked to play a concert in the cathedral.

He said: “For me, Rochester Cathedral is the most beautiful building in the world, so I couldn’t resist. The project has broadened my whole musical outlook.

“Gigs and clubs are my church, but when we played the mass in Rochester Cathedral the audience got up and started to boogie and treated the cathedral as a nightclub.

“At the centre of it was a sense of community; I’m from Rochester, it’s about Rochester, the kids in the choir are from Rochester, so this is our little bit of regional identity, which is why I called it The Rochester Mass – but it can pertain to anywhere.”

The performance at Ronnie Scott’s is on Thursday, December 3.