At the Lund theatre in Hampstead this evening the greatly anticipated Jeremy Pelt Quintet take to the stage at 8pm. Pelt, the ace hard bop thirtysomething California-born trumpeter who builds on the achievements of the late Freddie Hubbard, is joined in the front line by Coltrane-influenced tenor saxophonist JD Allen who punched above his weight with Sunnyside outing I Am I Am last year and whose new album Shine is just out. The quintet’s rhythm section features pianist Danny Grissett who released his own record Encounters last year, Philly bassist Dwayne Burno, known for his work with the great singer Betty Carter, and in-demand Detroit drummer, Gerald Cleaver.

At the Vortex in east London, hotly tipped electric trio Zed-U – reeds player Shabaka Hutchings, bassist Neil Charles (who featured on former Jazzwise album of the year Empirical playing upright bass) and drummer Tom Skinner – launch their exciting new album, Night Time On The Middle Passage. The band made an impact at its South Bank Concrete Bar residency which began last year and has since spilled over into the bigger Living Room space in the adjacent Queen Elizabeth Hall. Lastly, at Kings Place, in central London, the great French pianist and film composer Martial Solal, associated with the nouvelle vague director Jean-Luc Godard, is performing as part of the Paris Jazz season.

- Stephen Graham

To book for the Jeremy Pelt concert go to www.ticketweb.co.uk ; for the Zed-U go to www.vortexjazz.co.uk and for the Martial Solal concert visit www.kingsplace.co.uk