Outstanding trumpter Jay Phelps will be fronting a trio with young Birmingham-nurtured pianist Reuben James and bassist Mark Lewandowski at the ’s tonight (Thursday). The 5pm session is in the foyer, and it’s free. More at
After this you could head out to the where 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
There will be another two-parter on Friday, starting out at the 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
From there it’s a quick dash north to , 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 night which means members get in for free while outsiders pay £5. More at
* On Sunday head for the , just up the road from , 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
* On Mondays there is free jazz and a 2-for-1 pizza offer at , 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
* Tuesday evening is 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 foundations. It starts at 8.30pm.
More at .
* 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 from 8pm. Entry is £10 and there is more at
