This week's top gigs

Clark Tracey Quintet Victory Club, Cheltenham Monday 15th

Barry Green trio ft. Iain Ballamy 606, London Tuesday 16th

Jamie Taylor Quartet ft. Sebastiaan De Krom The Lescar, Sheffield Wednesday 17th

Ron Burnett Seven, Leeds Wednesday 17th

Ellie Jones Quartet Cu Mumbles, Swansea Wednesday 17th

Mark Chandler + MG3 The Flask, Scarborough Wednesday 17th

Sharp Little Bones feat. Tony Kofi Peggy's Skylight, Nottingham Wednesday 17th

Nicki Leighton-Thomas The Pheasantry, London Thursday 18th

Steve Banks Quintet Hen and Chicken, Bristol Thursday 18th

Seb Rochford and Kit Downes The Glasshouse, Gateshead Thursday 18th

Oddgeir Berg Trio The Blue Lamp, Aberdeen Thursday 18th

Erskine and Kavuma Crookes Social Club, Sheffield Friday 19th

Oddgeir Berg Trio Scott's, Belfast Friday 19th

Orlando Le Fleming Vortex, London Friday 19th

Roger Beaujolais Hunter club, Bury St Edmunds Friday 19th

Eddie Parker's Airborn feat Rob Luft The Verdict, Brighton Friday 19th

Jim Rattigan & Nick Costley-White 1000 Trades, Birmingham Friday 19th

Sunrise Jazz Ensemble RNCM, Manchester Friday 19th

Craig Miverton Ilminster Arts Centre, Ilminster Friday 19th

Rebecca Wing Jennifer Blackwell Performance Space, Birmingham Friday 19th 5pm

Steve Banks Quintet The Verdict, Brighton Saturday 20th

Alan Barnes William Collyn Community Centre, Cambridge Sat 20th

Betty Accorsi Quartet Jazz Centre, Southend Saturday 20th afternoon

Alex Goodyear, Joe Webb and Will Sach Flute and Tankard, Cardiff Saturday 20th

Sam Lightwing Quartet Railway Tavern, Stockport Sunday 21st

Colin Steele Söderberg Pavilion, Edinburgh Sunday 21st

Rob Barron trio Ronnie Scott's, London Sunday 21st lunchtime

Saxophonist Betty Accorsi, pictured, plays Southend on Sat 20th

Tags:

Last reviewed in these pages as a sideman on Linley Hamilton's impressive Ginger's Hollow this couldn't stylistically be more different for Mark Egan as it's more jazz-rock 1970s type fusion than the hard bop treatments found on Hamilton's album. Egan is in trio formation with guitarist Shane Theriot and drummer Shawn Pelton and you get plenty of rhythmical push and pull on these originals that have an Americana tilt at times beginning with the hoedown quality of 'Ponchatrain' and funky motion of 'Cross Currents'. The meat of the album is centred around 'Big Sky,' 'Pocket Call' and the Mark Knopler-like moods found on 'Sunflower'. More laidback than fiery in nature, Egan proves himself once again one of the most thoughtfully inventive of bass guitarists. And if you yearn for the sound of the Pat Metheny Group of which he was a founder member you will find plenty here to enjoy particularly the beautiful 'Big Sky' which comes closest to that unique spirit, time and place.