Pop/Jazz: JAZZ & BLUES

The singer/pianist Diana Krall (above) has captivated audiences - and photographers - ever since springing out of her native Canada in the early Nineties. Now, though, she is a fully-fledged star to fans of a sort of stylish cocktail jazz, appearing at the Royal Festival Hall on Wednesday with Martin Taylor, a guitarist of the moment, in support.

Meanwhile, two other singers - Britain's Ian Shaw (who has a great new record out with pianist Cedar Walton) and Claire Martin - indulge in a double-bill at the Pizza Express Jazz Club, Dean Street on Monday and Tuesday.

From Monday until Saturday, the Cameroon performer Manu Dibango will be providing winter warmth at Ronnie Scott's, Frith Street, while similar energy will be on display at Camden's Jazz Cafe, when the vibist Roy Ayers appears with his band Ubiquity to deliver a gripping fusion of soul, funk, jazz and the rest.

With much of the autumn touring over, this is an appropriate time to consider recordings - both re-releases and new issues. A sort of hybrid between the two is a set on What Disc simply called Danny Thompson Trio Live 1967. Featuring the eclectic bassist with the well-known guitarist John McLaughlin and the equivalently little-known saxophonist Tony Roberts, it contains recordings that have been forgotten for 32 years. Working their way through classics of the period by the likes of Charles Lloyd, John Coltrane and Miles Davis, the three players have come up with a little gem.

Abbey Lincoln, of course, made many recordings in the 1960s before going into a lengthy quiet period, from which she has only recently emerged. One of her older records that is once more seeing the light of day is Straight Ahead, featuring drummer Max Roach, pianist Mal Waldron and trombonist Julian Priester, a Candid re-release from 1961, that sees the singer bearing her soul in a way that presages the style of Cassandra Wilson.