WHAT’S ON: Please note that Friday’s gig at the Travellers Rest in Cockerton has been cancelled.

CD REVIEWS: NYSQ/The New Straight Ahead (Whirlwind Recordings WR4654) Formed in 2006 the New York Standards Quartet comprises Tim Armacost on tenor and soprano saxes, David Berkman piano, Daiki Yasukagawa double bass and Gene Jackson drums who have gelled into a wonderfully inventive and pulsating band. A great programme includes jazz classics Misterioso and Ah-leu-cha and the less expected Remember and When You Wish Upon a Star. Definitely one to look out for.

whirlwindrecordings.com

Anita O’Day/Five Classic Albums Plus (Avid AMSC1129) From the singer’s golden period of recordings in the 1950s and 1960s, this third set brings Billy May’s big band on a Cole Porter selection, Ben Webster and others on Travellin’ Light, a live trio session at Mister Kelly’s, her first solo album, Singin’ and Swingin’ from 1947 and a generally reflective All The Sad Young Men for another great double album.

Billy Eckstine/Four Classic Albums (Avid AMSC1131) This is more of a mixed bag with an over-the-top session with Sarah Vaughan singing Irving Berlin and a string section backing some revisited hits.

Best by far are a live session with Quincy Jones at Basin Street West and a classic recording with Count Basie and his orchestra. avidgroup.co.uk