With many venues heading for the Christmas break, savour the following while you can.

Starting at the sharp end, the Abram Wilson Sextet will be playing tonight at the National Centre for Early Music (NCEM), Walmgate, York.

You will remember Abram from his appearance on trumpet and vocals with Soweto Kinch at an NCEM concert earlier this year, when the young man from New Orleans joined Soweto half way through the evening and made everyone sit up.

Later he played a scorcher with Denys Baptiste's Let Freedom Ring project.

Tonight it will be Wilson and his young band all the way, basking in rave reviews for his new album, Jazz Warrior, on Dune Records. The music starts at 7.30pm, ticket details on 01904 658338.

Tonight's gig at Wakefield Jazz, with Claire Martin and Ian Shaw, was sold out some time ago. You may be lucky with next week's ticket-only show at Wakefield, the No No Nonet, led by Alan Barnes, so call 01977 680542 now.

Jazz in the Spa presents the ten-piece New Century Ragtime Orchestra tomorrow night at the Trustees Hall, High Street, Boston Spa. The band recreates instrumental ragtime in the Scott Joplin mode. Details from 01937 842544.

On Sunday in York there is jam session jazz at the Black Swan, Peasholme Green and on Monday Karl Mullen and friends will be playing Fine and Mellow at the Rook and Gaskill, Lawrence Street, York.

For a touch of early festive magic on Wednesday December 7, Christmas with Stacey Kent and her musicians swings into the Leeds College of Music, a month after a successful appearance at York Theatre Royal.

Early booking is recommended. Call the box office on 0113 222 3434 for more details.

Just as exciting, the rival attraction at Scarborough Jazz at Scholars on Tuesday is the gifted trumpeter/vocalist Martin "Mad Dog" Jones.

Martin has recorded albums in every style, from New Orleans to avante garde and everything in between. At Scarborough, Martin will be playing mainly mellow standards, with some fun vocals, more details on 01723 379818.

Kyle Eastwood began his entertainment career with a lead role opposite his father, Clint, in the film Honkytonk Man, but by the 1990s he had become a respected session musician.

Last year he wrote and recorded tunes for his father's Oscar-winning film Mystic River; later this year he will go back into the studio to record music for his father's next film, Million Dollar Baby.

Dad repays the favour with a guest appearance on Kyle's new CD, Paris Blue (Candid Records), performing the classic whistled melody on Bob Haggart's Big Noise From Winnetka.

When Kyle moves from double bass to electric bass guitar, the facility for sustained notes allows him to assume the role of lead instrument alongside various saxophonists and trumpeters.

All tunes on Paris Blue were recorded in Paris and are composed by Kyle (apart from Big Noise), but to my ears most sound more Californian than French, due to the presence of top smooth jazz drummer Vinnie Colaiuta on five tracks, plus 1970s fusion Fender Rhodes piano and Kyle's funky electric bass.

As one would expect from the Eastwood stable, this is a classy product, which the Jazz FM radio station would catalogue under "dinner jazz" - pleasantly sophisticated, immaculately played.

Finally, Tune Title Of The Week, courtesy of American power-piano trio The Bad Plus at Leeds Jazz last week, in post-Presidential election anguish: "The Empire Strikes Backwards". Never a truer word...

Updated: 09:36 Friday, December 03, 2004