Tonight’s gigs – late reminder

There is a four-way choice this evening – yes, we are spoilt – and while one option is not really jazz at all, it’s still worth a mention.

It’s brass all the way at the Yardbird in Birmingham as Brass Jaw swing in as part of a Jazz Services national tour. The band comprises Ryan Quigley on trumpet, Paul Towndrow on alto saxophone and Konrad Wiszniewski on tenor and is led by Allon Beauvoisin on baritone – so, a sort of saxophone quartet with a twist at the top end.

Followers of the vibrant Scottish jazz scene will be aware that all these players have Scottish National Jazz Orchestra connections, and Towndrow, in particular, is a strong leader with his own band and a couple of acclaimed CDs to his credit.

Brass Jaw plays a mix of originals and well-known standards, all vibrantly re-arranged for this group. When breath is the only force to hand, the excitement is guaranteed. Check this out from 9pm, and it’s free. Presented by Cobweb and Birmingham Jazz.

Sticks and strings make the sounds over in Coventry tonight – and in two different venues.

At the Biggin Hall pub, the Asaf Sirkis Trio mixes jazz up with a particularly adept kind of hard rock. Asaf is on drums, Tassos Spiliotopoulus is on guitar and Yaron Stavi on bass. In the intimate confines of the Biggin, this should get your ears pinned back and your sinuses cleared in no time. It starts at 8.30pm, entry is £10 (£7 for students) and it’s a Jazz Coventry presentation, as well as part of another Jazz Services national tour.

Meanwhile over at Warwick Arts Centre, the truly extraordinary Staff Benda Bilili, a band led by disabled street musicians who live in the grounds of Kinshasa Zoo and get about on motorised trikes, bring their infectious brand of rumba-rooted music to the stage. Roger Landu, the 17-year-old who made his own single-string lute-like instrument, the satonge, is an improviser to watch – in awe. Staff Benda Bilili are in the Butterworth Hall from 8pm. Tickets are £12.50.

Finally, bassist Mike Hatton’s funky jazz quintet MJHQ play at Cork’s Club, Bearwood from 9pm, Tickets are £4/3.