If there's one thing more incongruous than a full-time, state-salaried jazz orchestra based in the far north of Sweden, it could only be a subarctic swing band whose artistic director is a passionate fan of north-east pop legends Prefab Sprout.

Saxophonist Joakim Milder, leader of the Norrbotten Big Band, has made it a labour of love to transform the literate, harmonically sophisticated songs of Prefab Sprout founder Paddy McAloon into lavish, lounge-jazz arrangements. The selection at the festival included tracks from the band's 1984 debut album, Swoon, to an extremely obscure B-side, Oh, the Swiss!, and a mellifluous piano improvisation that begged to be retitled Oh, the Swedish!

For the second half, Django Bates Beloved Trio joined Norrbotten Big Band by for a reprise of the acclaimed Charlie Parker set that debuted at last year's Proms. Bates holds Parker in too high a regard for mere quotation – the wildly unpredictable opening improvisation only tipped its hat in the direction of Parker's classic Donna Lee towards the very end. But the lurching, arrhythmic original composition, We Are Not Lost, We Are Simply Finding Our Way, illustrated Bates's method in a nutshell.

Glassonic an extraordinary new north-eastern quartet founded by percussionist Brendan Murphy, whose delicate, otherworldly timbre emanates from an extremely fragile collection of instruments. The tubular bells were specially engineered at the National Glass Centre in Sunderland; a rare, glass marimba was imported from the US and the tuned wine tumblers of Murphy's patented "Sauvignon-blancophone" were sourced from the  charity shops of Whitley Bay. But the concept transcends mere novelty, creating seductive melodies and sustained blocks of harmony that leave a wholly unique sense of ringing in one's ears.