• Christian McBride and Ursa Major Blue Note, New York Tuesday 7 May, Wednesday 8 May, Thursday 9 May, Friday 10 May, Saturday 11 May, Sunday 12 May

Bass don Christian McBride joined by Ursa Major, above - Nicole Glover, guitarist Ely Perlman, pianist Mike King and drummer Savannah Harris.

• Donny McCaslin Village Vanguard New York Tues 7 May, Wed 8 May, Thurs 9 May, Fri 10 May, Sat 11 May, Sun 12 May

The late period David Bowie collaborator at the Vanguard with harmonica ace Grégoire Maret whose own new album Ennio is superb, guitarist Ben Monder, bassist Scott Colley and Blue Note label drummer leader Johnathan Blake.

• Bill Charlap Trio Birdland, New York Tues 7 May, Wed 8 May, Thurs 9 May, Fri 10 May, Sat 11 May

One of the world's greatest piano trios, piano icon Bill Charlap with bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington. Street of Dreams (2021) for example wasn't the kind of trio album where standards are deconstructed and the wheel is reinvented. It proved the very opposite and revelled in the classic, sleek, lines of the format, standards and Broadway songs as its vocabulary and treasure chest. Elegance and sophistication are written into its DNA. Charlap has immaculate touch and he and Peter and Kenny Washington in their long-running collaborative journey finish each other's sentences. Textbook piano trio in other words in the classic mould, this album could have been made in the 1950s or 1960s and is a period piece in that sense. Included on the album were Charlap's elegantly swinging version of Brubeck's paean to Duke Ellington 'The Duke' and a treatment of the Victor Young and Samuel M. Lewis song 'Street Of Dreams'. The inclusion of 'I'll Know,' a Frank Loesser standard from Guys and Dolls that you don't often hear so obviously these days, was a good choice. 'Your Host' the perky Kenny Burrell composition that appeared on the 1956 album Jazzmen:Detroit wa sbest of all. Kenny Washington's busy scuffling momentum gave the treatment a lot of life. You'll be snapping your fingers before long.

• The Howard Levy 4 Blues Alley, Washington DC Wed 8 May

Harmonica hero Howard Levy with guitarist Chris Siebold, bassist Joshua Ramos, and drummer Luiz Ewerling.

• Delfeayo Marsalis & The Uptown Jazz Orchestra Snug Harbor, New Orleans Wed 8 May

2020's Jazz Party was the Delfeayo Marsalis record that we had all been dreaming of. Breathing new life into trad New Orleans jazz all over again Jazz Party has a great joie de vivre to it. Perfect for Mardi Gras the album personnel included a likeable Tonya Boyd-Cannon on the title track and on stand-out 'Blackbird Special' the Dirty Dozen’s Roger Lewis. Marsalis, often the underdog in the Marsalis dynastic firmament, himself is nimble and communicative throughout and shows why he is a trombone great. A reminder why many of us like jazz in the first place. What a surprise. There was us thinking the early styles were more of a museum piece. There is a core to a century of the music after all and that core is evidenced in few places anywhere nowadays but is certainly here in all its tightly arranged exuberance and easily rustled up wild air of celebration. It takes a certain genius to tease it all out and make us listen up. Great finally to hear trad sounds delivered in such an unstuffy and unstodgy way factors that often ruin the style or make it tourist music or an historical curiosity. Del's in his prime. Sazeracs all round.

• Larry Vuckovich All-Stars feat. Alvon Johnson Yoshi's, Oakland Wed 8 May

• Billy Pierce, Eddie Henderson/Marcus Printup, Steve Davis, Mike LeDonne, Buster Williams, Carl Allen Smoke, New York Wed 8 May, Thurs 9 May, Fri 10 May, Sat 11 May, Sun 12 May

All star band of icons including Mwandishi greats trumpeter Eddie Henderson and bass boss Buster Williams all gathering to play the timeless music of Benny Golson.

• Spyro Gyra Dimitriou's Jazz Alley, Seattle Thurs 9 May, Fri 10 May, Sat 11 May, Sun 12 May

Jay Beckenstein (sax) with Scott Ambush (bass), Chris Fischer (keys), Julio Fernandez (guitar) and Lionel Cordew (drums).

• Christian Sands Trio feat. Ryan Sands and Jonathan Muir-Cotton Jazz Showcase, Chicago Thurs 9 May, Fri 10 May, Sat 11 May, Sun 12 May

• Take Six Keystone Korner, Baltimore Thurs 9 May, Fri 10 May, Sat 11 May, Sun 12 May

Supreme vocal mastery guaranteed from gospel and jazz legends Claude McKnight, Mark Kibble, Joel Kibble, Dave Thomas, Alvin Chea and Khristian Dentley.

• Javon Jackson Quartet Dazzle, Denver Fri 10 May

The fine tenorist Javon Jackson with pianist Jeremy Manasia, bassist David Williams and iconic drummer Billy Drummond known for his work with Carla Bley and Tessa Souter. We loved 2020's Déjà Vu on which Jackson sounded every bit the master that the Carthage, Missouri-born now 58-year-old has long since become. And these days his approach is even more imbued with wisdom on a good selection of not always over-familiar but definitely classic material served up here than ever. Released on his own label this picked up from For You released two years earlier and was a quartet affair with pianist Jeremy Manasia, beautifully introducing Jackson on 'Autumn in New York,' bassist David Williams springy and stylish throughout and drummer McClenty Hunter sliding us into 'Limehouse Blues' in one of his big moments. Jackson has a really believable sound that stems from his immersion in the Art Blakey universe as a young man when he was in the Jazz Messengers towards the end of Blakey's life. Jackson's version of Cedar Walton's 'Martha's Prize' certainly catches lightning in a bottle. There's a lot to savour here - the tenorist's take on Wayne Shorter's 'Venus di Mildew' especially sizzled.

Playing music from Javon's score for 2023 documentary With Peter Bradley.

• Future Tense Quartet Chris' Jazz Cafe, Philadelphia Fri 10 May

• Receita de Samba and Henrique Eisenmann Trio Regattabar, Cambridge, MA Sat 11 May

Javon Jackson, pictured, top, plays Denver on Friday