It's the week of the trumpeters with three of them leading bands over the next seven days and making other appearances too.

Bryan Corbett is the best known of the bunch, one of those players whose talent and hard work, together with a commitment to maintaining the Midlands as his base, has done much to help Birmingham build its own jazz identity independent of that big place in the south-east.

His playing appeals to the old guard and nu-jazz fans in equal measure - it's a timeless sound, with great dollops of Chet Baker and Freddie Hubbard in it, but given a contemporary slant.

We haven't seen so much of him in the past months as he has been

touring with the jazz hip-hop outfit Us3, but now he's back and leading his quartet at The Jam House on Tuesday.

The music starts at 9.30pm and entry is free. The Jam House has excellent sound and great atmosphere.

Before that there's a chance to hear these players in a different context at Friday's Rush Hour session at Symphony Hall. The band is led by Corbett's pianist Levi French. This, too, is a free session and starts at 5.30pm.

* Tomorrow it's the turn of trumpeter Ray Butcher, who leads his new band, Freedom B, at the Jazz Club.

* The band also has Miles Levin on drums, Jonny Crust on keyboards, Alan Mason on guitar and Peter Reed on bass.

Jazz Club, Birmingham Jazz's youth wing, meets at The Rainbow Pub, Deritend, Digbeth. Entrance is £2, there's a DJ from 8pm and the live music starts at 9.30pm. Call 0121 772 8174 for more info.

Butcher is in action again, and so is Levin, this time in the band of Venezuelan pianist and keyboard player Edgar Macias.

The venue is The Spencers Arms on the main Kidderminster Road at Hagley and the day is Friday.

According to the organisers, a number of guest musicians are likely to drop by and there will also be vocals by Derek Spires. The music kicks off around 8.30pm, and, again, entry is free.

* Also tomorrow, trumpeter and bass player Percy Pursglove, one of the busiest of the Birmingham Conservatoire jazz course grads, pays tribute to Herbie Hancock at the

Prince of Wales in Weston Road, Stafford. Call 01785 785244 or 01785 259144 for more info.

* And so from trumpeters to saxophonists and a very hot double act down in Stratford.

Peter King, much-respected keeper of the Charlie Parker flame, is on alto, Gilad Atzmon, the iconoclastic Israeli, switches to tenor, and the rest of the band is Keith Bill on piano, Tom Hill on bass and Asaf Sirkis, Gilad's Orient House Ensemble colleague, on drums.

Stratford Jazz meets on Sunday at 8pm at The White Swan, Rother Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire CV37 6NH. Venue: Tel 01789 297022. Tickets: £8 from Roy Stevens on 01789 298607. See the rest of Stratford Jazz's fine programme on www.stratfordjazz.org.uk

* News and views, by email please, to pl_bacon@yahoo.co.uk