Jazz Sunday at RWMCD - June 26

Cardiff's Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama is staging a Jazz Sunday on 26 June 2011 from 12 midday to 9pm.

The Dave Stapleton Quintet headlines the event at the college's redeveloped premises on North Road.

Also appearing are Purcell Re-Layed with Huw Warren and the big band sound of jazz orchestra Veritas.

There'll also be a range of free performances in the foyer from the Chris Gilligan/Stuart Power 4tet, the Trust Trio and Drum Machine.

Critic and author Stuart Nicholson will give a keynote speech before introducing a discussion on 'Living with Jazz'.

A day pass for all events costs £20 or £18 concessions, with individual ticketed concerts £7 or £5 concessions.

Contact the box office on 029 2039 1391 or see www.rwcmd.ac.uk

Jazz 4 Jed bursary

Leading jazz talent in Wales will benefit from a bursary set up in the name of Jed Williams, the man who created the Brecon Jazz festival and was a pioneer in the music until his death in 2003.

Applications are being sought for the first award in 2012, now that sufficient funds have been raised in memory of Jed.

Jazz 4 Jed was created in 2007 by a group of Jed’s friends and colleagues with the intention to commemorate his contribution to the development of jazz in Wales and throughout the UK.

The organisation aims to reflect his love of the music in performance, tastes, commitment to development and relationship to musicians and others involved.

Jazz 4 Jed spokesman Geoff Amos, who worked on Brecon Jazz for a number of years said: "This is a great thrill to be able to offer a bursary to young jazz talent in Wales in the name of Jed Williams, and it would be something he would have supported wholeheartedly."

The group set in motion a series of fund-raising events, culminating now with sufficient income to invite applications for the inaugural award for 2012.

The award is worth up to £500, and musicians interested in making an application should go to www.jazz4jed.co.uk and click on both 'About The Bursary' and 'How To Apply' pages.

Monday nights at Cafe Jazz

Live music returns to Monday nights at Cafe Jazz, St Mary Street, Cardiff with a monthly session by A New Old-Fashioned Jazz Band.

They'll be playing classic jazz and swing, light-hearted songs, and original writing, in the style of the 1930s New York.

The gigs take place on Monday 13 June and Monday 11 July 2011.

Admission is £3 or £2.50 concessions.

See www.cafejazzcardiff.com for details of live music throughout the week.

Jiveoholics van destroyed in arson attack

A jazz band from Monmouth are counting the cost of a trip to Northern Ireland after their van and much of their equipment was destroyed in a suspected arson attack.

The Jiveoholics had only played one show at the City of Derry Jazz and Blues Festival when they were woken early on Saturday morning by the fire service to say their vehicle had been burnt out.

The blaze caused over £30,000 worth of damage to the band's equipment and stage clothes.

Despite the fire, the band agreed to stay and play and with the help of many local businesses, Derry City council and the festival organisers they completed all 3 shows they were booked for and have already been invited back to take part in next year's jazz festival.

At this stage the band are unsure as to how much of the damaged equipment they can recover if any, but remain positive and have no plans to cancel any of their upcoming shows.

Band member Chris McGowan said: "We're all shocked at the amount of gear that's gone up in smoke but we'll try and make the best of it."

Read more on the Derry Journal website.

Jadu - Indo-jazz fusion at Gwdihw - May 5

I'm doing a DJ set in support of Jadu, an Indo-jazz fusion group from west Wales who'll be playing the Jazz Revhw at Gwdihw, Guildford Crescent, Cardiff city centre this Thursday 5 May 2011.

Jadu means 'magic' in Hindi, and the magic is crafted by the talented hands of five extraordinary musicians, Pete Stacey on soprano sax and flute; Rajesh David, vocals and harmonium; Kelly Smith tabla; Paul Uden guitar and Bryan Smith on tamboura.

Jadu's music is a creative synthesis of classical Indian music and European Jazz exporing the musical frontiers of the country created by Coltrane, McLaughlin and Ravi Shankar, the pioneers of Indo-Jazz.

8pm start, admission £3.

See Jadu's website for more about the band.

Brecon Jazz 2011 headliners revealed

Femi Kuti, Allen Toussaint and Monty Alexander are among the headline acts confirmed for Brecon Jazz 2011.

The festival in the mid Wales market town also includes a one-off gig by former James Brown saxophonist Maceo Parker with the BBC Big Band.

Courtney Pine, John Surman, Clare Teal and Zoe Rahman are among stars from the UK jazz scene appearing this year.

The event, run by organisers of the Hay Festival of Literature and the Arts, takes place from 12 to 14 August.

Full details will be revealed shortly at www.breconjazz.org.

Read more on the BBC News website.