Jazz may thrive in the urban jungle, but it can sound fresh and wild in the country, too. Now under the wing of Hay Festivals, Brecon Jazz has been reborn as an event to rival the better European festivals, wrapped neatly round a charming town in the Welsh hillsides.

Matthew Halsall's band play the kind of late-60s modal jazz made fashionable by the Five Corners Quintet and Nicola Conte, but he has a secret weapon: Rachael Gladwin's harp. She solos confidently and adds a glittery timbre to the ensemble statements.

In the darkened Theatre Brycheiniog, Keith and Julie Tippett start their performance so quietly that the sound of photographers' electronic shutters threatens to drown out their delicate improv. In the big Market Hall, meanwhile, where big video screens pump up the visuals, the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble get the crowd jumping; sousaphone player "LT" drives their drum'n'brass blitzkrieg with some impossibly tricky bass lines. However, the announcements go on a bit – Duke Ellington's dictum that "Too much talk stinks up the place" holds good for trumpeters, too.

Elsewhere, Belgian pianist Eric Legnini's trio make another raid on jazz history with grooving originals and a nicely pitched interpretation of Phineas Newborn Jr's Back Home.

The festival closes with three contrasting approaches to world jazz. Swedish multi-instrumentalist Magnus Lindgren, with a Brazilian-inspired set, plays gutsy and inventive flute solos. Hugh Masekela creates an instant party, leading from vocals and flugelhorn like a South African Louis Armstrong.

Yet it's Andy Sheppard's Movements in Colour quintet that sticks most firmly in the memory. With well-constructed compositions, infectious rhythms and spacious soundscapes – and featuring Norwegian jazz giants Arild Andersen (bass) and Eivind Aarset (guitar and electronics) – Sheppard's classy band make international jazz of the highest quality.