A JAZZ musician from Greenock has been named among the top performers in the country.

John Patton has been rated one of the best up-and-coming artists in his genre by the organisers of the prestigious Glasgow Jazz Festival.

The list was compiled to celebrate the start of the 30th annual showcase, which got underway on Wednesday.

John, 23, took up the guitar at the age of seven and was self taught until late in high school, when he joined Strathclyde Youth Jazz Orchestra and began to take a keen interest.

He has gone on to perform beside some of the country’s most exciting acts and musicians such as Fat-Suit and Tommy Smith, as well as having performed throughout Europe and featured at the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival. The talented musician has also aired some of his own compositions live on the BBC Jazz House and received regular radio play on various stations.

He has a passion for creating new music and released his debut album - Green 14 - last year.

He managed to fit all of this in while studying and recently finished the third year of a jazz degree at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

John is now set to move to Malaysia in August to begin teaching guitar, bass and drums at an international school in Kuala Lumpur.

As well as featuring in the jazz festival’s ‘top 30 under 30’, John is also in this year’s Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year contest among an elite band of five talented musicians.

As part of the event, he took to the stage in his home town on Tuesday at the Beacon.