Apologies for restarting this column rather later than the beginning of the autumn season of jazz and contemporary music. The Spin, at the Wheatsheaf, off Oxford's High Street, kicked off last week and have an exceptional programme including the great Dierdre Cartwright in a couple of weeks time. This week, vibes player Roger Beaujolais is appearing with the Spin band. Roger, who consistently plays to a full house, has a wonderfully fluid style breathing his own life into standards through to late bebop. The music starts at 8.45pm on Thursday.

On Monday at 7pm, there is a very special event at the Richard Hamilton Building at Oxford Brookes University - the launch of a new CD by the Oxford Improvisers. The music on Accession was written and arranged by Malcolm Atkins to comment on the EU accession states and was originally performed at the Jacqueline du Pr Music Building. Parts of the music will be performed in a number of different venues in the building from 7.30pm.

The Abingdon Jazz Club, at the King's Head and Bell, has its monthly session on Wednesday, with the Dorothy Shaw Trio and guest Alvin Roy on clarinet. Roy - a regular at the Tuesday night gigs at the Bullingdon, Cowley Road - has real swing and understanding in his playing.

On Friday, the gigs at the Carswell Golf and Country Club, near Faringdon, begin again at 8.30pm with vocalist Sophie Garner and her quintet. Garner has received a number of accolades from the press for her latest album and is respected as a singer of both jazz and blues.

Alvin Roy is also at the Hand and Shears in Long Hanborough on Sunday. On the same day John-Paul Gard's Pedalmania are at the Old Spotted Cow in Marston Meysey and the Dauphin Street Six are at the Beaconsfield Jazz Club from 8.30pm on Wednesday. The highly respected Bill Tayor Trio are at the King's Arms in Swindon on Thursday from 8.30pm.