SAXOPHONIST Jon Taylor, not to be confused with the pianist of the same name, will be performing a set of blues and jazz classics at The Red Lion Hotel in Poppleton tonight at 8.30pm with his band, the Blues Dudes. Jon is a charismatic performer and has a great band including the Harrogate based guitarist, Rich Jevons.

Ricardo Alvarez is another fine saxophonist based in York. Currently studying towards a PHD at York University, he will be presenting a concert where the material is inspired by brass band music from his home country, Chile. The concert takes place at the university on Friday at 1.15pm.

Boston Spa Jazz Club welcomes a rarity in jazz to its stage on Saturday evening at 8pm. Male singers are few and far between in the local jazz scene, but TJ Johnson is an excellent vocalist who performs jazz, blues and country songs by artists such as Louis Armstrong, BB King & Johnny Cash. Tickets are £10.

If you’d like to treat your mother to some jazz on Sunday, there are two choices within the city walls. Guitarist Nik Svarc will be joining the rhythm section at Kennedy’s Bar between 1pm and 4pm to play classic standards. The venue serves excellent food and is family friendly. Later in the evening, trumpeter Ian Chalk will be fronting the Firebird Quartet at The Phoenix Inn, George Street at 8pm.

There are two more gigs at the Phoenix to round off the week. On Monday at 8.30pm, Kate Peters will be joined by Martin Longhawn on keys, myself on bass and Canadian drummer Katie Patterson. Then on Wednesday, the ever-popular jam session invites players of all instruments to sit in with the excellent house band. All gigs at the pub are free entry.

• Album review:
Noemi Nuti, Nice To Meet You

NOEMI Nuti has assembled a band of excellent British-based musicians to perform compositions which incorporate Brazilian rhythms, Celtic melodies and contemporary British jazz in a style similar to some of Kenny Wheeler’s work with Norma Winstone.

Nuti has an impressive range and displays excellent vocal control. This is evident in both her complex melodies and confident solos such as on the grooved based composition, The Hum. There are impressive solos from the band, with trumpeter Quentin Collins taking extra credit on tracks like the opener Infanzia. A stand-out track is the joyful and bouncy Brazilian song, Doralice.

In this reviewer’s experience, there are two styles of jazz vocalist. Those from the Billie Holiday camp of putting emotional expression as the primary focus and those that give more attention to the melody and rhythm. Nuti sits in the second camp and this is recommended for fans of modern vocalists such as Esperanza Spalding and Eliane Elias. A strong debut and a promising start for a young jazz vocalist.