Outstanding trumpter Jay Phelps will be fronting a trio with young Birmingham-nurtured pianist Reuben James and bassist Mark Lewandowski at the University of Birmingham ’s Bramall Music Building tonight (Thursday). The 5pm session is in the foyer, and it’s free. More at thsh.co.uk/jazzlines
After this you could head out to the Bearwood Corks Club where Silvershine Jazz Club is presenting a jam night hosted by the late Andy Hamilton’s band, The Blue Notes. It starts at 9pm, entrance is £4 and there is more at bearwoodjazz.co.uk
There will be another two-parter on Friday, starting out at the Symphony Hall cafe bar at 5pm, where Jonathan Silk leads his increasingly electric Quintet, with bassist Chris Mapp and keyboardist Andy Bunting twiddling the knobs, while the pair of tenors, John Fleming and Nick Rundle, stick to the acoustic pads and reeds. More at thsh.co.uk/jazzlines
From there it’s a quick dash north to The Red Lion in Warstone Lane, Hockley, for not only Me & 3 but Me & 6 as well. Me is saxophonist Joey Walter and she is joined by three more saxophonists for the first half, and added trumpet, bass and drums for the second set of the evening.
This is a Birmingham Jazz club night which means members get in for free while outsiders pay £5. More at birminghamjazz.co.uk
* On Sunday head for the Rose Villa Tavern, just up the road from The Red Lion, Hockley, where drummer John Hirst presents jazz on every other Sunday evening.
On the stand this week is Tumbleweed, a trio of Chris Young on alto saxophone, Andrew Woodhead on keyboard and Ben Kane on drums. It starts at 8pm, entrance is £5 and find out more about the venue and its events at therosevillatavern.co.uk
* On Mondays there is free jazz and a 2-for-1 pizza offer at Yorks Bakery Cafe, at the Colmore Row end of Newhall Street. Trumpeter Percy Pursglove and drummer Andrew Bain mastermind these sessions and they assemble a different but equally classy band each week. The music runs from 7-9pm. More at yorksbakerycafe.co.uk
* Tuesday evening is Spotted Dog night, and the Digbeth pub will be squeezing in Arnie Somogyi’s Mingus Big Band for what promises to be a very special session.
Double bassist Arnie is something of an authority on the music of his hero, the great Charles Mingus, and this band should test the Spotted Dog’s foundations. It starts at 8.30pm.
More at Jazz @ The Spotted Dog on Facebook.
* Finally, on Wednesday there is another chance to hear trumpeter Bryan Corbett and bassist Chris Dodd presenting music from their recent album Green. With them will be Sean Hargreaves on keyboards and Mark Fletcher on drums, and they will all be at No 1 Shakespeare Street, Stratford-upon-Avon from 8pm. Entry is £10 and there is more at stratfordjazz.org.uk
